


Make it worth it

by The_lion_inside



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, F/F, Physical/Sexual Abuse, Slow Burn, Wayhaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 28
Words: 69,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24728320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_lion_inside/pseuds/The_lion_inside
Summary: Wayhaught AU. Nicole is just getting out of a very abusive relationship and is trying her best to cope and get her feet back under her. After meeting her new neighbors, her whole world may be about to change. Rating is for future chapters.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 177
Kudos: 833





	1. Chapter 1

Rain pelting on the window was the first thing Nicole heard that morning. Well, thought she heard. Was that really the sound that she was hearing over the dull roar of all the cars outside? She would never get used to hearing the same thing every morning. The cars, the horns, the chatter of people passing below her window. This was a far cry from the open air and quiet mornings that she was used to. She didn't want to be here. She had known that since the moment she agreed to come to this city. Chasing the dream. That's what she kept telling herself. At least that was slightly accurate. She came chasing a woman who would never love her back. Not in the way that she wanted to be loved. She knew that before the last box of her things were loaded in the back of her car for the trip here. But she had agreed to come. To try. Things would be better, she just knew it. She kept knowing it for months. Months of nights spent alone. Nights that she knew that the whole reason that she was here was in someone else’s bed. 

She had met Shae right after graduating from the police academy, while she was still finishing up with her medical degree. She had told her that her career would “take them places” and that Nicole could “be a cop anywhere”. Her career came first, so Nicole had never gotten to put all that training to use. Instead, she spent her days answering phones and walking in endless laps. She had given up her career and all of her friends in the end. Nicole knew that she could never compete with her ego, and she learned all too quickly that she could not compete with her rage either. They had left the town that she had fallen in love with to come to the big city for Shae’s new job. Everything had just gone downhill from there.

She rolled out of bed and ran her fingers through her hair, ignoring her reflection in the mirror. It had been 6 months. 6 months since she had called Shae on her bullshit. 6 months since the last fight they would ever have. Since she had packed her bags after Shae left for work, crammed it all into her beat up SUV, and taken off. She had left a note on the refrigerator saying goodbye and begging Shae not to contact her. She cleaned out her bank account and changed her number. After a couple hasty calls, she had a place to stay for the night, then managed to find couches to crash on or cheap hotel rooms for the next few months. She had finally moved into this new place a couple weeks ago. 

She knew that she did not want to be back where she had been. But she also knew that waking up alone still sucked. After making sure that she had the coffee started, she made her way slowly back to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. The time read as 6:45 AM. That seemed to be about right. She used to be good at sleeping in. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was just the restlessness about the day. As she waited on the coffee to finish brewing, she surveyed the small apartment. Most everything had been left behind when she decided to leave. She was still sleeping on the blow up air mattress that she had bought her first night in the new apartment. It was almost laughable how much her apartment resembled that of a broke college student. 

The smell of coffee brought her out of her stupor and she snagged a mug off the drying rack by the sink. After adding a healthy helping of both sugar and cream, she settled herself on the end of the beat up leather couch that she had found at a yard sale and unlocked her phone. She knew that social media was just a distraction at this point, but it helped pass the time while she sipped her coffee. An actual meal would be out of the question. Just coffee for breakfast. Never anything else. 35 minutes and 2 cups of coffee later, she was back stumbling into her bedroom, this time stopping just long enough to toss her phone on her bed and the tshirt she was wearing towards the hamper. If there was no one here to yell at her about picking it up, did it really matter if it went in or not? The boxers she shed in the bathroom while she waited on the shower to heat up. Seeing as she hadn’t left the house in 2 days except for work, it was more about relaxing her muscles and washing the sleep away than anything. 

The steam filled up her nose as she pulled the door to the shower open and stepped in. Stepping under the hot water, she closed her eyes and tried to push everything else away. She knew it was useless, but it was worth a shot. On the plus side, she could feel some of the tension leaving her shoulders. A quick wash of her hair and body, and she turned the heat up even higher and let her head rest against the wall of the shower. The steam was getting to an almost choking point and she knew that she needed to get out. She stood for a few more minutes, eyes closed just breathing in and out. One last deep breath and she turned off the shower and stepped into the steamy bathroom. She quickly toweled off and trudged off to her bedroom to throw on a clean pair of boxers before returning to the bathroom. 

The steam was starting to slowly fade off the big bathroom mirror and she caught a glimpse of herself. Eyes immediately went to the spidering scar running along her ribs. On the other side, the scars ran up her bicep. She absentmindedly traced her fingers down her ribs. These were the only physical reminders she had left of what she had been through. She remembered the night that she had received those scars. She shivered at the thought of Shae’s breath, hot on her face, as she repeatedly told her that she deserved this. If she wasn’t so pathetic, if she would just fight back, this wouldn’t be happening. She knew that should have been the night she left. But she hadn't; she had stayed and let Shae pretend like nothing happened when the sun came up the next morning. Nothing like having to clean your own blood off the walls. 

Lost in thought, she barely registered that there was a knock on her door. She hesitated to answer it. She just moved here and knew no one. Who could possibly be knocking on her door? She grabbed a tshirt and took off out of her bedroom as the knocking started again. She reached for the doorknob as an image of Shae played through her mind. Surely it wasn’t her. She had no reason to be here, and Nicole had been so careful to not let her know where she was moving. She shook her head and checked the peephole first. Outside stood a brunette woman, about her height, with her arms crossed. She watched as the woman picked at her nails impatiently before throwing her hands up in the air. Nichole knew that she could just wait and this woman would probably just walk off, but she didn’t want to be rude. She yanked open the door to see the woman turning to leave. 

“Um…..hi?” Nicole mumbled, raising her hand in a wave as she stepped out into the hall.

The woman paused mid-step and slowly turned back towards her.

“Hi….so, you must be the new neighbor? I’m Wynonna. I live a couple doors down.” she stuck out a hand to Nicole, which she quickly shook. 

She smiled softly as she dropped Wynonna’s hand. 

“I’m Nicole. Nice to meet you. I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten around to meeting anyone yet. I’ve just had a lot on my plate lately.” Nicole let her sentence drop off, not sure how to explain why she had been locked away in her apartment the last 2 weeks. The only time she had left was to go to work and to go get groceries. 

Wynonna seemed to waive her off and just shrugged. 

“You don’t wanna meet most of these people. There really isn’t anyone worth talking to here except for me. Oh, and my sister sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Nichole raised her eyebrow and, as if on cue, Wynonna chucked.

“Yea, sometimes. She is annoyingly lovable pretty much all the time and WAY into her research, but I meant she sometimes lives here. When she is not shacked up with that asshat boyfriend of hers.” Wynonna visibly shivered and pretended to gag. 

Nicole just nodded and tried not to giggle. She ran her fingers through her still damp hair and shuffled her feet, unsure of how to continue the conversation, but she knew that she had to start coming out of her shell. 

“Well its good to know that there is at least a couple people in this building that don’t suck. I’d ask if you wanted to come in, but its not much.” Nicole gestured back towards her still open door. 

“Nah, its okay. I gotta go get ready for work anyways. But I tell you what, how about I meet you at Shorty’s at 6 tonight and I’ll buy you a “welcome to the neighborhood” drink?” Nicole surprisingly knew exactly where Wynonna was talking about. She had seen the bar many times on her way to go get groceries. 

“I’ll see you there.” Nicole smiled, even though she knew that she would probably end up talking herself out of it by tonight. But she also knew that she had to try to start getting out again. 

Wynonna smiled and saluted Nicole as she turned and walked back to her apartment. 

Nicole quickly dipped back into her own apartment and made her way back to her bedroom. She knew that she had to be at work soon, but she didn’t really have the energy to get ready. She threw on a button up and and old pair of jeans, before pulling on socks and her boots. A quick trip into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and ran a brush quickly through her hair until it looked semi-acceptable. 10 minutes later she was walking out the front door, keys in hand. She took a deep breath as she started up her vehicle. Maybe today would be a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is probably gonna be a real slow burn, but bear with me guys. I'm working hard and another chapter is already in the works. Let me know what you think.

Her day dragged on for what seemed like forever. She kept checking the clock, wishing the minutes away. She had taken a job as a security guard at the local mall to pick up a couple extra bucks, but she was really getting tired of doing nothing with her day. The mall wasn’t crowded at all and she had already circled through the food court twice. Her stomach had already started to growl and she knew that she needed to get some food in her system. She debated on just eating a pretzel, but she knew that she needed something more filling. She had been debating on the restaurant that seemed to have recently opened at the far end of the food court. Greek did sound good. She settled on a lamb gyro, which she all but inhaled once she sat down. After polishing it off, she quickly cleaned up her trash and stretched before heading back out to patrol the stores. She had counted the people as she sat eating, and judging by that number, the second half of her shift would be just as uneventful as the first. 

After she had made a couple laps, she checked her phone. She had a couple social media notifications and a few emails (probably spam), but not a whole lot going on there either. Thankfully, just a couple more hours and she would be able to get out of here. One more lap and she headed back to the “office”, which was little more than a glorified broom closet. There wasn’t a whole lot to do here either, but at least she could work on some of the piles of paperwork that seemed to always be stacked on the edge of the desk she shared with all the other guards. Lucky for her, this seemed to pass the time better than strolling through the mall. People watching was fun. But she still wasn’t sure why a mall that seemed to do so little business had so many security guards. 

5 minutes to go and she started to get all her stuff together. She made sure that she had put all of the paperwork into the correct files before she placed her walkie on the charger next to a row of half empty charging cradles. She stretched her body out as she pushed through the back door of the mall and headed towards her car. She hopped in and started it up. She quickly turned up the volume on the radio, rolled the windows down, and headed back to her apartment. Every atom of her body wanted to go home, put on sweats, and curl up on the couch. She had honestly almost completely forgotten about Wynonna’s offer to buy her a drink until she pulled up in front of the building. She kept telling herself over and over that she could not flake out on the first chance that she has really had since leaving Shae to go out. She quickly changed and checked her phone again. She really should have gotten Wynonna’s number this morning. 

She still had about 30 minutes left until she needed to leave, so she grabbed a Hot Pocket out of the freezer. No, it wasn’t healthy, but it was better than nothing. Especially if she was going to drink. She scrolled through her phone as she waited for it to cool, getting bored of her social media very quickly. She finished it in a matter of minutes and plopped down on her couch to pull on her boots. She ran to her bathroom and smoothed down the stray hairs before making her way back to the door. It was a warm night and it would be a quick walk. She made her way outside and headed in the direction of the bar, still a little anxious about being out and about. 

The smoke that hung in the air seemed to tickle Nicole’s nose as she pushed through the swinging doors and made her way to the bar. She hadn’t seen Wynonna anywhere when she first walked in, but maybe she was just running a little behind. That meant Nicole still had time to leave. She settled down at the bar, determined to at least try. She ordered a beer and sipped at it, watching the people move around her. There weren't a whole lot of people there, but it was still early. 

30 minutes later and still no Wynonna. Nicole had been patiently sipping on her beer and had almost decided to just go home. The place had gotten substantially more crowded. She was pulling out her wallet to pay for her drink when she heard someone calling her name from the door. She turned just in time to see Wynonna pushing her way through the crowd around the bar. 

“Hey Nicole, surprised you’re still here. I’m sorry. I had something come up and I realized I didn’t have your number. I hope you don't mind, but I kinda brought a tag-along.” 

Just then, Nicole turned as she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. It felt like all the air left her lungs as she watched a petite brunette push her way out of the crowd and appear at Wynonna’s side. Nicole couldn’t help herself as her eyes quickly scanned the woman now standing within a couple feet of her. Even with the look of anger clear all over her face, she was beautiful. Nicole clenched her hands on her thigh to keep from reaching out to the angel in front of her.

“Wy, you could have at least waited on me by the door. I told you I just had to park my Jeep, then I would be right behind you.”

Wynonna seemed to ignore her and instead looked around her at Nicole.

“Nicole, this is my baby sister. Waves, this is Nicole. She’s who just moved in 2 doors down.”

The smaller brunette turned towards her, and her expression quickly changed from a scowl to a beaming grin. Nicole realized that the smile looked even better on her. She was so inraptured that she barely registered the hand stuck out in front of her. Finally regaining her composure, she reached out and shook it. 

“Waverly Earp. Nice to meet you.” 

“Nicole. Nicole Haught. Nice to meet you too.”

They both turned rapidly as Wynonna almost choked on the beer that had magically appeared in front of her. She collected herself and turned towards the two other women.

“So your last name is Haught?” Nicole could hear the sarcasm dripping off the sentence. And she could have sworn she heard Waverly mumble something under her breath, but she dipped her head and Nicole didn’t have time to ask before Wynonna was slapping her on the back and yelling at the bartender for a round of shots for the group. Once the shots were poured and lined up on the counter, she had only a split second to react as she felt Waverly press ever so slightly against her shoulder as she reached to grab her shot glass. Nicole realized that all the other stools at the bar were full and Waverly would have to push her way between her and Wynonna to reach the bar. She turned and asked if Waverly would like her seat, just then noticing that it looked like Waverly had been crying.

“No, I’m okay. I’m used to being on my feet all day in this bar.” Waverly waved her off, not unsimilar to the way that Wynonna had waved her off that morning in the hallway. She must have seen the look on Nicole’s face because she continued. 

“I work here.” Nicole watched as she quickly threw back the shot and leaned back in to slam it down on the counter, which prompted Wynonna to call for another round. 

“Woah woah woah. I thought you said one welcome to the neighborhood drink?”

“No sane person turns down free booze” Wynonna threw her second shot back and seemed to be waiting on the other two. Nicole knew that she probably should not be drinking this much, but she was off work tomorrow and didn’t want to leave just yet. 

“Besides, we have something we are celebrating, right Waves?” She nudged the younger Earp, who did not smile. Instead she just shook her head and polished off the shot. Nicole was tempted to ask, but she knew it was none of her business. 

Wynonna didn’t seem fazed at all by the daggers that seemed to be shooting from Waverly’s eyes to the back of her head as she continued. It was clear that she was very happy about whatever it was. 

“Remember this morning how I told you about the asshat she was dating” she gestured to Waverly, “well she finally left his dumb ass.” Wynonna’s face scrunched up when an unexpected kick connected with the side of her leg. 

“Hey! That’s kind of a dick move. I thought you’d be happy.” 

“Can we just not talk about it? Order another round, I’ll be right back.” Nicole watched Waverly out of the corner of her eye as she pushed through the crowd, seeming to head in the direction of the neon sign showing the location of the bathrooms. 

“I don’t know what her problem is, but I can definitely drink more” she mumbled, motioning for the bartender to bring another round. 

“It can still sting when a relationship comes to an end, even if it was a bad one. Even if you are the one to leave. It's hard not to second guess yourself and let that fear win out.” Nicole was not sure what had brought on this revelation or why she had blurted it out to Wynonna. She felt like she was betraying her own privacy by that statement. Maybe she should stop drinking. 

“Yeah, I get that, but she is better off. She will realize that soon enough. In the meantime, she will be back at the apartment. So now I’m gonna be tripping over all her damn books.” Nicole didn’t even notice the smile that seemed to play across her face. The happiness was short lived, as she felt an arm wrap tightly around her shoulder. Her whole body tensed as she turned her head to see a man she didn’t know with his other arm around Wynonna. 

“Good evening ladies. Who is this tall young beauty that you have with you tonight Wynonna?” He turned his eyes to meet Nicole’s. Though she saw no malice in his rough face, something made her uneasy and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. She jerked off the barstool, stopping only long enough to apologize to Wynonna and say she needed some air. As she took a deep breath and attempted to push herself through the crowd to the door, she heard Wynonna yell at the man who now had taken her seat.

“Way to go Doc. Smooth.”

It seemed to take forever to make it through the mass of bodies blocking her speedy exit. When Nicole finally pushed through the door, she took a deep breath and leaned against the building. Her whole body seemed to be drawing in on itself and she was fighting off a panic attack. She wasn’t sure if it was just the fact that she didn’t know this man or if it was just the way that he had roughly wrapped his drunken arm around her, but she couldn’t seem to get her body to relax. The alcohol that she had already ingested was helping a little, but it was still hard to get a handle on her emotions. She had avoided being around people for so long, she didn’t expect this. She should probably just go home. She jumped at the sound of the doors banging open and turned to see Wynonna looking around looking back and forth down the sidewalk before her eyes finally landed on Nicole’s.

“Hey, Wynonna, I’m sorry. I think I’m just gonna…” She was cut off by Wynonna as she stepped closer and shook her head. 

“Don’t. He is an ass sometimes. But he’s my ass, so…” She plastered a smile on her face, but she quickly saw that Nicole wasn’t laughing. Her face changed to one of concern. 

“Hey, dude, seriously, are you okay?” 

Nicole took a deep breath and shook her head to try and clear it. 

“Yea, I’m fine. I don’t know what that was. I just spazzed for a second. I’m sorry I ran out. But I think I should probably be getting home.” She pushed off the wall and pushed her hands into her pockets. 

“Or...or...just hear me out...what if you stayed a little longer? Come on, I’m really sorry for Doc. But come play some pool with me. And...you’re the first semi-cool person who has moved into this boring town in a while.” 

This last part Wynonna said with an eye roll. Nicole knew when to admit defeat. She hadn’t had any real friends in a while and maybe it could be good for her to branch out from inside her own little world. She shook her head and let out a sigh, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. 

“Okay. One game.”

Wynonna pumped her fists in the air and spun back towards the door. She paused, though, before pushing her way back into the noisy bar. She turned again, and smiled diabolically at Nicole.

“Just so you know Haught Stuff, I’m gonna kick your ass. But I will say, I’m glad Waverly insisted I go introduce myself.”

Before Nicole had a chance to respond, Wynonna had turned back around and pushed her way into the bar.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fun night out, Nicole is faced with a dilemma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't promise they will all come this quick, but here ya go. Enjoy!

After she regained her composure, Nicole pushed her way into the bar just in time to hear Wynonna yell out towards the bar.

“Babygirl! Pool table!”

Nicole unconsciously glanced towards the bar. Waverly had spun around on the barstool she was perched on. She had been talking to Doc and, if Nicole wasn’t mistaken, she was scolding him. Had Wynonna told her what had happened? Or had she seen the entire thing unfold? She probably thought that Nicole was some kind of nutcase by now. She shook her head again to try and clear it. She shouldered her way through the crowd and broke through in enough time to see Wynonna shooing away the group of guys that had presumably been playing pool just a few minutes prior. 

“Wynonna, please tell me you didn’t just threaten those guys.” Waverly seemed to be trying very hard to maintain her glare at Wynonna, but she could see the small upturn at the corner of her mouth. 

“It’s not my fault those pussies are intimidated by me.” Wynonna turned back to the pool table and started racking the balls. 

Nicole tucked her head and covered her mouth, trying her best to hide her laugh that was only getting worse by the look of irritation on Waverly’s face. She must have heard Nicole’s barely covered laugh, because she turned to shoot daggers at her. At this, Nicole turned quickly and headed to the other end of the table. Within a minute or two, Wynonna had finished racking the balls and handed Nicole a stick. She handed the other one to Waverly. 

“So, who wants to break?” Nicole smiled at the other 2 girls, but jumped when she heard a voice to her right.

“Pardon me ma’am. I did not mean to spook you yet again.” Doc tipped his black Stetson towards Nicole as he hesitantly took a step closer. 

“I would just like to whole-heartedly apologize for my behavior earlier. I will admit that I had had a few drinks prior to our brief meeting. Miss Waverly and Wynonna,” his eyes cut quickly to the aforementioned duo, “have shown me the error of my ways.” 

Nicole took another deep breath and smiled back at him, happy to see his serious face break into a smile. She gestured to the table, deciding that it was best to just move past this. 

“Wanna join us? We could have teams.” 

With this, Wynonna sprang to life. 

“Ooh ooh! I call Doc!” Doc’s smile seemed to grow exponentially and he tipped his hat again at Nicole before walking around the table to her. Nicole watched as he slid his arm around Wynonna’s waist and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She felt really bad about their interaction earlier. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he seemed to be a decent guy. She had almost missed Waverly making her way around the other side of the table. 

“So, I guess that means we are partners then?”

“I guess so.” Nicole nodded, nervously tapping her fingers on the edge of the table, before turning to face Waverly. “I really hope you are good at this, because I haven’t played in ages and Wynonna has already said she was gonna kick my ass.” 

Waverly rolled her eyes and reached for chalk. 

“We will see about that.” The look of determination on her face caused Nicole to chuckle again. 

“Let’s play. I break!” Wynonna had torn herself away from Doc and was lining up her shot. She muttered “drinks” to him before taking her shot. Doc quickly disappeared into the crowd, returning with 4 shots and 4 beers as Nicole was lining up hers. 

The game was paused while everyone grabbed their shots and threw them back. Nicole had been feeling the buzz of the alcohol earlier, but she was now starting to get more than just a little wobbly on her feet. She leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She heard Wynonna congratulating Doc on what she could only assume was a great shot and opened her eyes. The first thing her slightly blurry vision settled on was Waverly, who was watching her from across the pool table. But before she could say anything, Waverly had broken eye contact and was moving around the end of the table for her shot.

The game went on like this for a while, with the shots getting progressively worse. She wasn’t 100% sure which team was actually winning, but she was having fun. Before long though, Doc had decided to help Wynonna with her shots, and the two of them were quickly all over each other. The game was finally abandoned and they all made their way back to the bar. Wynonna leaned in and whispered something into Doc’s ear and Nicole could almost feel Waverly’s eyes roll. 

“So, we are gonna get out of here. Haught sauce, it's been a lot of fun. We are gonna have to do this again. But next time, you’re buying. And I’m gonna really kick your ass at pool.” She winked at Nicole and shot finger guns her way, then turned and smiled at Doc, nodding towards the door. 

“Yeah, no, I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll just wander the streets for a couple hours until you two are asleep. Thanks for your concern.” Nicole was surprised to hear Waverly’s voice booming from behind her. Doc stopped before he followed Wynonna into the crowd. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills and sat them on the bar beside Nicole. 

“Miss Haught, would you please be so kind as to escort Miss Waverly here to do whatever her heart desires for the next little while. Maybe some pancakes?” He winked at Waverly and tipped his hat at them both before turning and melting into the crowd. Nicole smiled to herself and scooped the bills off the bar. She turned to Waverly and smiled. Waverly quickly piped up.

“Listen, you don’t have to take me anywhere. I can entertain myself for a while. They are so drunk, they will be passed out before long. I don’t want to bother you. I’m sure you would rather just go home.” Waverly must have noticed that she was starting to ramble because she cut herself off quickly. Nicole was too enraptured, and maybe a little too drunk, to notice. When she finally realized that Waverly was not going to continue, she spoke up.

“It's not a bother at all. All I had before coming here was a Hot Pocket. Other than that I haven't eaten in...” Nicole checked her watch “oh, wow...um...12 hrs. So, why don’t we get those pancakes and you can tell me about what it’s like working in this place.” Nicole watched Waverly think it over, trying and failing to keep the grin off her face. With a small nod, Waverly turned and headed towards the door. Nicole followed quickly behind. When they finally reached the sidewalk, Waverly stopped and turned to Nicole, seeming to be weighing her options. 

“So, pancakes...the only place open this late is going to be the diner. I’m way too drunk to drive, though” she paused as her eyes wandered over Nicole’s face “and so are you. I would say we can just walk but…” Waverly gestured down to her feet and Nicole’s gaze followed her hand downward.”

“Oh, yeah. Those heels look really uncomfortable.” How had she just now noticed them? She had tried her best to keep her gaze from wandering to the shorter woman all night. Which was especially hard to do every time Waverly had bent over the pool table lining up a shot. She was so lost in thought that she barely registered the words that came out of her mouth.

“The apartment isn’t that far away. I’m sure i have something that you can wear.”

The statement hung in the air for what felt like eternity, and an overwhelming fear was beginning to settle in her stomach when Waverly looked up at her with a mischievous smile on her face. 

“I have a better idea. How about I just come up and make pancakes at your place?” She must have seen the look of shock that placed across Nicole’s features because she quickly corrected herself.

“I’m sorry. That’s very presumptuous of me. My feet are just killing me and I make really good pancakes.” The mischievous grin had been replaced with an almost embarrassed smile and Nicole’s head was spinning.  
“This is a bad idea” she kept trying to tell herself. Her place wasn’t much and she hadn’t had anyone over since she moved in. “That’s because you don’t have any friends,” her brain tried to tell her. Well, maybe that had changed. She barely knew Waverly. This was all a lot at once and her drunk brain was having trouble processing it all. She needed to eat one way or another and she wouldn’t mind doing it with some company. She debated telling her that she didn’t have the ingredients for pancakes, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to the beautiful woman in front of her. So she said the only thing that she could say.

“Okay.”


	4. Chapter 4

Nicole was not prepared for the squeal that Waverly produced. It seemed to echo off the bricks of the bar and right back through her. She couldn’t stop the shiver that ran up her spine. Instead, she crammed her hands in her pockets and shifted from one foot to the other. Waverly seemed to be waiting on something and Nicole realized that she still hadn't said anything since the very short “okay”. She bit the inside of her cheek and gestured back in the direction of the apartment building. 

“Are you ready to go?” Waverly nodded enthusiastically and took off down the sidewalk, Nicole falling in step a couple steps behind her. After a block though, Waverly slowed to allow Nicole to catch up.

“You’re not some kind of crazy axe murderer are you?” Waverly joked and Nicole’s face broke out in a smile.

“Nope, are you?” 

“Trust me, you’re more likely to be killed by Nonna than me. Unless you count being overloaded with a crushing amount of historical information.” She giggled to herself and continued. “So, what made you move here? Wynonna and I saw you bringing in boxes when you moved in. You sure got everything in pretty quickly.”

Nicole wasn’t sure exactly how to answer Waverly’s question. Did she tell her about Shae? Did she tell a little white lie? She knew not answering the question wasn’t acceptable, so she settled with a simple answer.

“I just needed a change of scenery. And it doesn’t take long to move everything in when it all fits in the back of your SUV.” Knowing that the look playing across Waverly’s face was one of pity, Nicole averted her eyes and concentrated on stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk. She was surprised when Waverly responded.

“Traveling light. I like it. I could never do that. I could fill up the back of a car with just my clothes and books. Wynonna is always on me about leaving my stuff all over the apartment, but it's almost too much to fit in just my room.” 

Nicole looked up and caught Waverly watching her out of the corner of her eye and broke out in laughter.

“You think that’s impressive, you should see my apartment. It's really bare. I’m still sleeping on the blowup air mattress that I bought the first night. It's not the most comfy bed I’ve ever slept in, but it does the trick.” Nicole shrugged and realized that they had almost arrived back at the apartment building. Nicole dug her keys out of her pocket as they entered and made their way over to the elevator. They rode up to the 4th floor in comfortable silence and Nicole couldn’t shake the urge to reach out to her. It must be the alcohol, she concluded. Again, she barely knew this girl. And she knew better. She kept telling herself this all the way to her apartment door. 

Nicole seemed to be sobering up rather quickly, but it still took a second to get the door unlocked. As she flipped the lightswitch, she stepped out of the way to allow Waverly a chance to step inside before she shut the door. She watched as she surveyed the mostly empty apartment, moving slowly through it. Waverly stopped as she rounded the end of the couch and beamed at Nicole.

“It's definitely a lot more...roomy...than our apartment. But I still like how you have managed to turn it into a home. It's cute. But I promised you pancakes. I’m sure I can find my way around your kitchen.” She bounced over to the kitchen island and immediately started looking through cabinets. Nicole watched her as she moved around the kitchen, feeling her heart warming. It had been a long time since she had felt this good. In fact, the last time was in those early days with Shae. Before everything fell apart. 

Nicole didn’t even realize that she had drawn in on herself until a bang coming from the direction of the kitchen startled her. She had instinctually taken a step towards the sound, but stopped to laugh at the look on Waverly’s face. 

“Why was that pan up so high? It almost hit me in the head.” 

So that’s what that noise was. It was then that she noticed the large pan behind Waverly on the floor. This just caused her to laugh harder, looking down at the ground to try to hide it. Soon though, she could hear laughter echoing her own and she looked up to see Waverly covering her mouth to stifle her own laughter. She felt a knot coiling in her stomach. She could listen to Waverly laugh all day and never get tired of it. As the laughter between them died off, Waverly motioned for Nicole to come closer. 

“Come keep me company while I make you the best pancakes you’ve ever tasted.” Waverly grabbed the last few items needed from the cabinet and turned to the stove. 

Nicole walked slowly into the kitchen and pulled up a chair.

“So, tell me about working at Shorty’s.” 

Nicole listened as Waverly recounted some of the best and worsts of working at the local watering hole. As she moved around the kitchen, using her spatula for emphasis, Nicole watched her. There was something about her, something Nicole couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something that just radiated warmth, and calm, and….safety. Something Nicole hadn’t felt in quite a while. 

As the conversation continued, they fell into an easy rhythm and the pancakes were soon done. Waverly plated them up and moved them to the table while Nicole quickly rummaged through the kitchen looking for toppings. She was upset to see that all she had was butter and maple syrup. Simple. But she was still disappointed in herself for not having more options for Waverly. She took the two items and sat them on the table in front of the chair that Waverly now occupied. She settled herself into the chair that Waverly had placed her pancakes in front of. She noted it was the one closest to hers. After both finishing covering their stacks in gooey syrup, Waverly picked up her fork and looked at Nicole, waiting. 

Nicole picked up on the silent hint and began cutting into her pancakes. She knew that she would love them, even if they weren’t the best she’d ever tasted. After she made it through the first bite though, she was convinced. 

“These are really really good Waves. You were right. Best pancakes, hands down.” As she finished her sentence, she scooped another bite into her mouth. She didn’t miss the blush that crept over Waverly’s cheeks as she quickly began eating her own pancakes. They both ate in silence for a few minutes, broken only by the sounds of silverware on plates. Nicole knew she needed to pace herself or she would get sick. She pushed back from the almost empty plate and saw that Waverly had done the same. 

“I think I might have cooked too many pancakes.” Waverly looked up at her with a smile on her face, even though she looked to have eaten more than Nicole. Impressive. Nicole chuckled to herself. 

“I think you might be right. But they were so good.” Nicole leaned back and rubbed her full stomach. 

Waverly giggled, seeming proud of herself, before announcing that she should be given a tour. Seeing as how she cooked and all. Nicole knew that they could see almost all of the apartment from where they were sitting, but she was not about to tell Waverly Earp that. She stood up quickly and motioned for Waverly to do the same. Nicole walked into the livingroom and made a wide sweeping motion.

“This is the living room, if you haven’t already figured that out.” This earned her a chuckle from Waverly. Next was the spare bedroom, which currently remained mostly empty except for a few boxes Nicole had yet to unpack. The next stop was a quick sweep of the bathroom, which again was mostly barren except for a few necessities. Last stop was the bedroom. Nicole had purposefully waited until last for it. This was her safe haven, and one of the few places in the whole apartment that contained anything personal to her. 

As they reached the door, Nicole stepped back to let Waverly walk into the room first. She wasn’t sure what she expected from her, but it was not for Waverly to walk slowly around the room, seeming to examine each item with an intrigued look on her face. She finally made her way around the room and she stopped in front of a light tan Stetson sitting on the corner of her desk. As her fingers played with the brim of it, she turned slightly to look at Nicole with a devilish grin plain on her face. 

“Oh, now I’ve got to see you in it.” She picked up the hat and looked from it to Nicole. Had it been anyone else, Nicole probably would have said no. She hadn’t worn that hat in years. She only kept it as a silent reminder of where she came from. Back when things were a lot simpler. 

She extended her hand and Waverly almost leapt across the room to give it to her. As she ran her hand along the bill, she tried to think of the last time she had worn this hat. It had been the summer before she had moved to follow Shae. It had sat in the back of her closet since then. She drew in a deep breath and placed it on her head. She was almost afraid to make eye contact with Waverly, but her body betrayed her when she heard her inhale rapidly. 

“Hello cowboy.” Waverly breathed out, barely above a whisper. She took a step closer and Nicole felt the coiling in her stomach getting tighter and tighter. She prayed that this beautiful woman, now within a couple feet of her, couldn’t see the look on her face or the way her breathing had become faster. 

She should just step away. That would be the smart thing to do. She had drank far too much. She wasn’t ready for this. Waverly had JUST broken up with her boyfriend. And she was straight. Wasn’t she? Sexual orientation hadn’t exactly been a topic of conversation that night. So did that mean that Waverly thought she was straight too? There was no way. 

All these things rushed through Nicole’s head as she started down at Waverly. Somehow she had gotten closer. She balled her fists up by her sides to avoid pulling the petite brunette against her. But she was so close. The stillness between them seemed to just make the air thicker and harder for Nicole to breathe. She cleared her throat and said the first thing that came to her mind. 

“Do you like it?” By the blush creeping across Waverly’s skin, Nicole was pretty sure the answer was yes. Waverly dipped her head for a moment and then stepped closer to Nicole. Before she had time to react, Waverly’s arms were around her neck. The distance between their lips closed to mear inches and Nicole forgot to breathe. 

“Yes, I really do.” Waverly leaned in closer and Nicole’s heart started to race. Was she actually about to kiss her? Her heart sunk ever so slightly though, when Waverly placed a quick kiss on her cheek and then pulled back, letting her arms fall off Nicole’s shoulders.

“I don’t know about you, but I am super tired. I’ve had so much fun with you tonight. I’m sure you would like to get into something a little more comfy than jeans though. The two love birds have surely passed out by now. I’d better get going.” 

Nicole’s heart sunk. She didn’t want her to leave. She wanted to wrap her up in her arms and kiss her. She wanted to stay up to see the sunrise with her. She wanted so much in that moment, but she knew that it was for the best that Waverly go. She couldn’t feel this way about Waverly. It was dangerous. She just nodded resolutely before turning towards the door. She was going to spend every moment she could with her though. 

“Mind if I walk you home.” 

“How chivalrous,” Wavery giggled as they made their way into the living room when she had dumped her shoes. Nicole watched her scoop them up and then head for the door. She followed Waverly through it and down the hallway the short distance to her own apartment door. Waverly fumbled with a key ring before finally getting the key in the lock. She seemed to have just remember something vital though, because she stopped and turned towards Nicole. 

“It would be the good neighborly thing to do to make sure I have your number wouldn’t it? You know, in case of emergencies?” Nicole grinned at this and held up a hand to indicate that she would be right back. She ran back and grabbed an ink pen and paper off the table that stood just inside her doorway. She quickly jotted her number down and delivered it back to Waverly, who glanced over it before tucking it safely in her pocket. She stepped closer and pushed up on her tiptoes, planting a soft kiss on Nicole’s cheek. 

“Goodnight Nicole.” She opened her door and disappeared inside. All Nicole could do was stand there and wave. 

She made her way slowly back down to her own apartment, absentmindedly rubbing the spot where Waverly’s lips just were. After she stepped in and closed the door, she made her way back to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. She quickly put it on the charger and made sure it was at full volume. A quick shower and she was in her pjs. As she settled down in bed, she heard the familiar chime of a message coming through. She almost knocked her phone off the nightstand in her excitement to get it. A new text message from a number she didn’t recognize. She opened it quickly, happy to hear from Waverly so quickly. But the text wasn’t from Waverly at all. Her whole body went cold and panic started to rise up in her throat. The text was only 5 words long, but it brought Nicole’s whole world to a screeching halt. 

Its Shae. Can we talk?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger warning* The chapter starts off with a flashback of some of the abuse Nicole suffered at the hands of Shae.

Nicole dropped the phone like it had burned her. How the hell did Shae get her new number!? She had asked her to leave her alone. To not contact her. Why was she texting her now, after 6 months of respecting her wishes? Now that she was finally making friends. A scorching wave of guilt seemed to wash over her as the thoughts of Waverly’s lips on her cheek played back through her mind. 6 months ago, she would have known better than to give someone her number without running it by Shae first. 

Nicole’s stomach turned and her whole body began to shake as she remembered the last time she had given her number to someone. Shae had seen the text pop up and her phone while she was in the shower. It didn’t matter that it was one of her co-workers. It didn't matter that the text was simply to ask Nicole to swap shifts. Shae had been waiting on her as she exited the bathroom. The hand that connected with Nicole’s face as she turned the corner had knocked her into the wall. She still remembered the taste of blood in her mouth and the ringing in her ears. 

She also remembered what followed. The way that her towel had been ripped off of her. The way Shae had pinned her to the wall with her body, raking her nails down Nicole’s skin. She clawed at her chest before moving lower, all the time telling Nicole that she belonged to her and only her. She knew there was no use in fighting as Shae forced her hand between her legs. She had ignored the tears that fell from Nicole’s eyes, forcing her fingers inside of her while whispering in her ear how much she knew Nicole liked it rough and how no one would ever love her, or fuck her, the way that she could. 

Nicole lept from her bed and ran to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach. She sat in the bathroom for a long time, resting herself back against the cool porselen side of the bathtub. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking. Once she was satisfied that there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up, she made her way back to her bed. She picked up the phone just long enough to turn the volume down and toss it onto her desk, then she crawled back under the covers. She was still shaking when she finally drifted off to sleep. 

Her sleep that night was filled with nightmares and she woke the next morning in a cold sweat. Every muscle ached and she dragged herself to the shower to try and wash the previous night’s memories off of her body. She barely had the entergy to do more than let the steaming water cascade down her body. She wanted to kick herself. She didn’t want to be this person anymore and she thought that she was over this. Then again, she never imagined that Shae would contact her. She was so pathetic. She knew that she should have never let Waverly into her apartment. The hot water couldn’t seem to warm Nicole enough and she shivered again. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the tears running down her face. 

After what seemed like an hr, Nicole finally stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel tight around her. The steam had filled the bathroom and she was glad that she couldn’t make out her reflection in the mirror. She was also glad that she didn’t have to go to work today. She made her way back to the bedroom and quickly changed into sweatpants and a tshirt. Maybe she would feel better with something in her stomach. 

As she stepped out of the bedroom, she paused and slowly turned to look in the direction of her desk, where her phone still sat on the charger. In the light of day, she knew that she shouldn't let Shae still have this hold on her. She would just delete the message and change her number. That would be the simple thing to do. She snagged the phone off the charger and slid it into her pocket, not ready to deal with the message just yet. Food first.

As she moved into the kitchen, she noticed the dishes from Waverly’s pancake dinner last night. Her chest was tight, but she refused to think about the way she had felt watching Waverly cook for her. She resolved to do the dishes later and settled down on the couch with a big bowl of cereal. She grabbed the remote and turned on her TV, skimming Netflix until she found a true-crime documentary. She had almost forgotten the phone in her pocket until she felt it vibrate. She hesitantly pulled it from her pocket and checked it.

Hey, had a great time last night. I told you you’d like my pancakes <3

She felt her heart start to soar. Waverly had texted her. The high was short lived though. Nicole was a mess and she knew it. Last night had proved it. Waverly didn’t need someone like her in her life. Yet, she still felt eerily drawn to her. There was a piece of her who was still hopeful and naive. She knew that she could just ignore Shae and change her number again. She was better than this. 

Nicole’s mind ran wild with all the things that she was feeling and she let the phone drop back into her lap. She knew she needed to respond to Waverly. She had been nothing but kind to her and didn’t want to do anything to mess up a friendship with both sisters. 

“Simple, Haught. Just keep it simple” she whispered to herself as she picked the phone back up. She stared at the screen for a few moments before sending a short reply. 

They were pretty great. :)

Nicole let out a breath that she didn’t realize that she was holding. She knew that she couldn’t let herself get two close to the beautiful brunette down the hall, but could having a couple new friends really hurt?

She didn’t even want to look at the text from Shae, but she also didn’t want it on her phone anymore. She deleted it as quickly as she could. But not before blocking the number. She tossed her phone to the other end of the couch and closed her eyes. Her world had shifted so quickly, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be feeling right now. She took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. She needed to occupy herself. The kitchen did still need to be cleaned.

She spent most of the rest of her day curled up in front of the tv. The kitchen had taken next to no time to clean and she had quickly retreated back to the safety of the couch. She again flipped through all that Netflix had to offer but was soon bored. She glanced down towards the other end of the couch. She was apprehensive about picking the phone back up. But she still hoped that Waverly had text her again. She stretched down the couch and grabbed her phone. When she unlocked it, she smiled to herself as she saw that Waverly had indeed text her. A couple times. The first was just a smiley face. The second though, was an invitation. Apparently, the Earp sisters were having a scary movie night and wanted to know if Nicole would like to join them. She knew that she shouldn’t. Her best option would be to politely decline. She sent a quick message to Waverly with a white lie about not feeling well, and sat the phone down on the coffee table. She wasn’t sure what she expected when her phone started to ring a few minutes later, but it sure wasn’t to have Wynonna yelling down the phone line.

“Your place or ours Haught Shit, your choice.” She knew that she was going to have a hard time saying no to either of them going forward. She agreed to come to them and asked if there was anything she needed to bring to this movie night. Wynonna told them that they were already all set, but to come in comfy clothes. Nicole was already in comfy clothes, so it just took her a few minutes to smooth out her hair in the mirror and make her way down to the Earps’ door. She quickly knocked before she had a chance to chicken out. Within a few moments, the door was thrown open and there stood Waverly in a cut off tshirt and a pair of pajama pants. As soon as the door shut behind her, she was already wondering what she had gotten herself into.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night with the Earps

Before she could make it more than a couple feet into the apartment, she heard Wynonna yelling from the living room requesting popcorn. Waverly rolled her eyes. 

“Go make yourself comfy. Wynonna is getting everything set up. Hope you like scary movies. Wynonna is obsessed. It's usually just the two of us.” She motioned to the living room and Nicole turned to see the aforementioned woman vaulting the back of the couch on her way towards her. 

She stopped in front of Nicole with a huge grin on her face. She looked super comfy in a baggy Iron Maiden t shirt and pj pants. She seemed to be super excited at the prospect of all the gore and adrenaline in store for them.

“Please tell me you like scary movies and you're not gonna squeal and hide your face like that one.” She pointed at Waverly, who just stuck her tongue out at her and continued with the popcorn. Nicole actually did really love scary movies. She used to sit up late and watch them when Shae wasn’t home, since she seemed to hate them. 

She followed Wynonna back to the couch and plopped down unceremoniously. There were a number of DVDs scattered across the coffee table and Nicole picked one up that she didn’t recognize and scanned it.   
“Ooh, that’s a good one. Have you seen it?” Wynonna asked as she looked through the movie selection, on a mission to figure out in what order to watch the vast selection in front of them. 

“No, I haven’t seen a lot of these actually.” Nicole sat the movie back down and looked over the rest of the stack. 

“Hey, have you seen this one?” Nicole had not, but there seemed to be something else playing across her face other than just pure curiosity about Nicole’s horror viewing habits. Nicole just shook her head. The sound from beyond the couch startled her.

“No, Wynonna! You know that I can’t watch that stupid movie.” She gestured to the copy of Darkness Falls still in Wynonna’s hand. 

Wynonna rolled her eyes and dropped the movie back on the table, then turned to Nicole.

“We saw it not too long after it first came out and Waverly had nightmares for a week. I thought it was good. Waverly refuses to watch it since.” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “But Haught has never seen it. You can hide your face like you always do and sit between me and Haught. I promise we will watch it first and get it out of the way.” Waverly had a look of determination on her face, but sighed and nodded.

Wynonna hopped off the couch to start the first movie and turn off the lights as Waverly sat down on the couch and sat the popcorn down in front of her. Nicole was suddenly aware of just how close the youngest Earp was sitting to her. She could almost feel the heat coming off of her and wondered how she hadn’t noticed that the couch was this small. She pushed herself closer to the arm of the couch. Luckily, Waverly didn’t seem to notice.

Before long, they were surrounded in darkness, the only light coming from the screen. Nicole could already see Waverly nervously eating the popcorn in her lap. It didn’t take long into the movie before Nicole could feel the little brunette beside her jumping. But Wynonna was right, it was a good movie. And she could see why the movie had scared a young Waverly. 

Nicole’s whole body went tense when Waverly buried her face in her arm. It took a split second for Waverly to realize what she had done and started to pull away. Nicole just turned and smiled and Waverly seemed to understand. She mouthed “sorry”, but didn’t pull completely away, choosing to stay close to the tall redhead. She could almost feel the warm breath seeping through the thin fabric of her shirt sleeve. She hated the way her whole body seemed to be on fire and she was having a hard time concentrating on the movie. She stared straight ahead and balled her fist up on her thigh. This closeness to Waverly was almost too much and she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to reach out to her. After a few minutes, though, she felt soft fingers wrap around her clenched hand and the warm breath move to her neck.

“Are you okay?” Waverly whispered, squeezing Nicole’s fingers. Nicole couldn’t stop the shiver that ran up her spine, but she just nodded. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she licked her lips, leaning over to tell Waverly she was going to grab a drink. Waverly brushed her off and said that she would be right back with a soda for her. She chuckled to herself, but allowed the smaller woman to bounce up and off to the kitchen. Though she could breath easier, she still missed the warmth of Waverly beside her.

She glanced down the couch to see Wynonna still glued to the screen, stopping for only a few seconds to answer a text message, then back to the movie. Nicole turned her gaze back to the movie. Within a couple minutes, Waverly was back at her side. She slid down onto the couch and sat her soda on the coffee table in front of her before handing one to Nicole. This caught Wynonna’s attention.

“What the hell Waves? Way to not get me anything, sheesh.” She shoved Waverly’s shoulder hard enough to knock her over into Nicole.

“Nicole is a guest and you can get your own.” Waverly swatted Wynonna. This started a shoving match between the two on the couch.

Nicole watched the playful banter between the two and she felt an easiness roll over her. She had given up on watching the movie, far more interested in watching the two Earp women, until Wynonna finally gave up and went to the kitchen for her own soda. It wasn’t missed on her when she walked around the back of the couch just how close Waverly was to Nicole. 

Once they had finished the first movie, they all got up to stretch and Waverly disappeared to the kitchen for more popcorn. Wynonna took this time to kick her feet out on the couch and nudge Nicole roughly with her sock covered feet. 

“Hey, Haught? Thanks for coming over. Waverly will never forgive me if I tell you this, but she seems to be...idk...lighter or something when you’re around. Just don’t get any ideas, though. That’s still my baby sister.” She kicked Nicole one more time for good measure. Nicole took this opportunity to grab her foot and throw her legs off the couch. Wynonna flung a pillow towards Nicole, but she deflected it easily. They were both shocked when a bag of potato chips collided with the back of Wynonna’s head, followed by Waverly scolding Wynonna about the “proper way to treat guests”. Wynonna flipped Nicole off around Waverly’s back and she couldn’t help but laugh. 

They agreed to let Waverly pick out the next movie and started up an easy convo while the decision was being made. 

“So, Wynonna, what do you do for work? No, wait, let me guess. You’re a bodyguard.” Wynonna chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“Actually, kinda I guess. I work for…” she paused for a moment before hesitantly finishing, “ law enforcement.” 

“Oh, wow. I actually graduated from the police academy, but I never really got into law enforcement afterwards. Shae….my ex….she got an amazing job offer and she couldn’t turn it down. So for now, I get to patrol the mall looking for hoodlums.” 

Waverly spun around and grinned up at Nicole. 

“You work at the mall? Wynonna, wasn’t that the first place you ever got picked up by the cops from?” A pillow hit the side of Waverly’s head and she swatted at Wynonna. 

“Hey, Haught Pocket, if you’re interested in a career change, they are looking for a new deputy down at the sheriff’s department. I could put in a good word for you. It’s about time for some new blood in that old place. I’m sure Nedley will be thrilled for the help.”

Nicole felt a flutter in her chest. She knew that she had to hide her excitement at the prospect of actually getting to be a real cop, but she also knew that she couldn’t get her hopes up. Not until she had the job. But things were definitely looking up. 

Waverly had decided on a new movie and Nicole watched her hop up and bounce over to the TV to start it. As she came around the coffee table, she grabbed a blanket off the back of the armchair and returned to her position on the couch. She positioned herself precisely between Wynonna and Nicole, not touching either as she wrapped herself in the blanket. 

“Are you really that cold?” she asked Waverly, fidgeting with the edge of the fabric. 

Wynonna scoffed from the other end of the couch. “She’s always cold. You should see the amount of blankets on her bed.”

She caught Waverly’s eye and saw the blush creeping across her face. “Maybe some other time.” She winked and watched the blush just get worse. The main menu for the movie had popped up and Wynonna grabbed the remote and hit play. This movie she had actually seen. She stretched her legs out in front of her and rested back against the back of the couch. She could feel Waverly shifting beside her and this time, she let herself relax into Waverly when she felt her rest her head against her shoulder. The warmth of her skin cut straight through the thin tshirt material and Nicole couldn’t help but grin ear to ear. Before long though, her breathing had started to slow and Nicole realized that Waverly was fast asleep on her shoulder. A quick glance over and she saw that the both Earp girls were asleep, Wynonna now slumped over the arm of the couch. 

She sat watching Waverly sleep, curled against her for a few moments before telling herself that she really should go. She attempted to stand, only to realize that Waverly had managed to wrap her arm around her waist without Nicole realizing it. She gently removed it from around her and then stood up, trying her best not to disturb the sleeping sisters. She was halfway to the door when she heard her name being called softly from the couch. She turned in time to see Waverly sliding off the couch wrapped in the blanket. She stood stock still as the smaller woman got closer, smiling to herself at how cute she was wrapped in the fuzzy material. 

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you. I guess Nonna and I were both more tired than we thought. You don’t have to go, if you wanna stay and finish the movie…” Nicole shook her head and cut her off. She knew that the way she was feeling about Waverly was overwhelming and she knew that if she wanted to continue to just stay friends with her, she needed to go. 

“It’s okay, I’ll leave you two to get some rest. I did have fun tonight. We will definitely have to do it again. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” she asked hopefully, not ready to leave just yet.

“Of course.” She led Nicole to the door and held it open for her. Nicole stopped with her foot out the door and turned to say goodnight, only to have her body met with Waverly’s as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on Nicole’s cheek. Her heart was in her throat but she could definitely get used to this. Before she could even respond, Waverly kissed her again, this time a gentle brush at the corner of her mouth. She couldn’t help but sigh and slide her hand to Waverly’s hip. Waverly pressed herself even closer to Nicole and it took everything in her to not wrap her arms around Waverly’s tiny waist. For a brief moment, Nicole considered kissing Waverly like she had been thinking about ever since she saw her at Shorty’s. But she knew better. She took a step back, letting Waverly lower herself back down to stand in front of her. 

“I gotta go Waverly. Bye.” She turned so quickly, she didn’t see the look of embarrassment flash across Waverly’s face, or the way she hung her head as she closed the door. Within a couple minutes, Nicole was back in her own apartment, door shut, with her back pressed against it. This was bad. This was very bad.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole gets some unexpected surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this out. Things are finally about to get juicy in the next couple chapters.

Nicole was lost in a world of thought. Was she reading too much into this or had Waverly actually tried to kiss her? She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She turned it up and drained most of it before looking around the too empty apartment. Nicole’s whole body was on fire with the thought of how Waverly had pressed herself against her. She ran her fingers through her hair and decided that the best course of action would be a cold shower and then crashing into bed. The shower was over quick and threw on a pair of checkered boxers before crawling under the covers. She wasn’t sure how long she laid there in the silence, but eventually, she fell asleep. As sleep overtook her, all she could think about was Waverly’s smile. 

She woke up early the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. A glance at her clock said it was 7:35 AM and she groaned. She grabbed the offending object off the nightstand and answered it without really looking at it. The voice on the other end of the line was one that she barely recognized. 

“Hello, Nicole. This is Danny. Is there any way that you can cover my shift today? My wife just went into labor and I’m supposed to be into work at 9AM.”

Nicole stretched her sore muscles and resolved herself to getting out of bed. 

“Sure. I’ll start getting ready now. Oh, and congratulations.” Nicole threw her legs over the edge of the bed. Kids were something that Shae and her had never agreed on. While Nicole had wanted at least one, but Shae was against it from the beginning. She wasn’t sure why that hadn’t been enough for her to turn away. 

She hung up the phone and flopped back on her bed. After a couple minutes of staring at the ceiling, she got up and began to put on her uniform. She had just put on her shoes when she felt as much as heard the first roll of thunder rattle the windows. She didn’t even know it was supposed to rain. Great. She made a mental note to make sure to grab her umbrella on her way out. Once her boots were laced up, she made a quick loop through the kitchen and grabbed a couple granola bars and a bottle of water. After a quick check that she had everything that she needed, she headed for the door. She was locking up the door when she remembered the umbrella. After swearing at herself, she unlocked the door and grabbed it from where it had been unceremoniously propped. Again, she shut and locked the door and turned down the hallway. Her eyes locked on the Earps’ door and she realized that she was hoping that Waverly would come walking out. That she could just call in sick to work, take Waverly in her arms and….

She shook her head to dislodge that thought. Her feet moved faster once she was on the other side of the door with no sign of the beautiful brunette. She pushed the button on the elevador and checked her phone while she waited. “No new messages.” She really hoped that she hadn’t scared Waverly off last night. She kicked herself for not taking her shot. The elevator doors dinged open and she stepped in, tapping her phone against her leg. 

“Get ahold of yourself Nicole. Maybe she is just busy.” A light went off in her head and she quickly opened their text conversion. 

Had fun last night. Hope the nightmares stayed away. 

She pressed send just as the elevator doors opened. She crammed her phone in her pocket as she dug for her keys. She tossed the umbrella on her passenger seat, started up her car, and pulled out of her parking spot. The drive to work was quick and she was soon pulling into a parking spot behind the mall. The rain had slowed to a slight drizzle, but if the weather updates on her phone were correct, it was gonna get worse again real soon. 

She grabbed her umbrella and jogged into work. She had seen quite a few cars in the parking lot and was almost glad at the thought of being busy today. She made her way to the little office and clipped on a walkie. As she reached for the doorknob to leave the office, it swung open and in walked Pete, one of the more “seasoned” guards. Nicole noted the look of sheer boredom across his face as he stretched and flashed Nicole a forced smile. 

“I didn’t think you were on the schedule today Haught.”

“I wasn’t. But Danny called this morning and said his wife had gone into labor. So I told him I would come in to cover his shift so he could be with her. I better get out there though. Wanna make a round before I dig into paperwork.”

“Oh, you’ll have plenty of time for paperwork. Danny was scheduled for the Pit.” He chuckled and gestured to a small door set into the other end of the office. Nicole inwardly groaned. “The Pit” as everyone had so fondly called it, was a room off of the main office. Nicole was pretty sure that it was originally designed to be some kind of safe room, as it had a small metal door that separated it from the room she was standing in. It was approximately the same size, except most of the far wall was covered completely in screens. In front of it sat a long row of controls and a single chair. A small table sat against the wall to the left and a row of file cabinets against the one on the right. Nicole had managed to avoid it for the most part. Mostly because she didn’t like the idea of sitting in the small room staring at the screens all day. It always made her feel confined. 

“Guess I’ll see you in a few hours.” She turned and strolled into the room, sighing as she heard the door swish shut behind her. She settled into the chair in front of all those screens. She was in for a long day.

Thankfully, she was able to make it through the beginning of her shift without much going on. She had watched people come and go across the screens. Mostly it was just people wandering through the mall waiting out the rain. 

Lunch time finally rolled around and Pete showed up to give her a break for a bit. She honestly wasn’t very hungry, so she grabbed a pretzel and started strolling past all the shops that she had only watched from the monitors today. People were still milling about and Nicole wondered if the rain would let up before time for her to go home. She pulled her phone from her pocket and was surprised to see a text from Wynonna. 

Hey, Haught shot, remember that good word I said I would put in for you? I spoke to Nedley. He said to have you swing by the station tomorrow to fill out some paperwork. Seems that, after I talked to him this morning, he did a little digging on you. Said he’d love to have someone of your caliber. Just want to talk to you first. 

Nicole couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t thought it would happen this fast. She had done very well at the academy, but she honestly hadn’t thought she had done well enough to warrant an almost immediate hire. And what did that mean for this job? Did she tell them now or wait? Maybe she would just see how tomorrow went and then go from there. She was grinning ear-to-ear when she shot Wynonna a message back. 

Thank you so much Wynonna! I don’t know what you said to him, but I appreciate it. I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon. 

She quickly shot a message to Pete asking if he could cover her shift for a couple hours tomorrow afternoon so she could leave early. He agreed to cover the second half of her shift on the promise that she would buy his lunch tomorrow before she leaves. She happily agreed. 

She was a little sad to see that Waverly still hadn’t text her, but her day was looking up and she decided to try not to read too much into it. A quick check of the time told her that she still had about 15 minutes left on her lunch break. She was nearing the front of the mall and perched herself on a bench. She watched as the rain seemed to wash over everything. Even though it was storming, it was still somehow peaceful. Once she had finished the last of her pretzel, she tossed her napkin in a nearby trashcan and headed towards the office. She thanked Pete again as she crossed paths with him on her way to the Pit. When she slumped down in the chair, her day seemed to be a little brighter. She spent the rest of her shift kicked back, pounding out paperwork. 

The rain was coming down even harder as she made her way to her car. Once behind the wheel, pulled her phone out. Her heart stopped. Waverly had texted her back 45 minutes ago! How had she not seen that!? She opened the message as quickly as she could and her face broke out into a grin.

I had a great time too. Thank you for letting me cuddle with you when it got too scary. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. I’ve been at work all day. I get off in an hour though, if you wanna swing by. Wynonna told me what Nedley said. Sounds like congratulations are in order. ;)

That smiley face did things to Nicole that she would never admit to herself. SHe tried to push those thoughts out of her head when it hit her. She had 15 minutes to get to Shorty’s. She started up her vehicle and drove as fast as she dared through the pouring rain. When she pulled up outside the bar, she was surprised to see that there weren’t many cars out front. The time on the radio showed that she still had a few minutes until Waverly was off work. She figured she would just wait for her inside. 

After running through the swinging doors, she surveyed the bar and caught sight of the brunette wiping down glasses near the end of the bar. She walked up slowly, not sure what to expect from Waverly. Once she had almost closed the distance between them, Waverly looked up and smiled at her. Her heart was in her throat as she sat down at the bar.

“And how are you today Ms. Earp?” she asked across the bar. 

“I’m fine Ms. Haught. If you will give me just a couple minutes, I’ll officially be off.” She sat the glass down and turned towards the back. Nicole just nodded. True to her word, Waverly was back before too long. By the time she returned, another woman had taken her place. She sat down beside Nicole and nudged her gently. 

“So, what does a girl have to do to get you to buy her a drink?” Waverly was practically beaming as she teased the taller woman. 

“Oh, I can think of a lot of things you could do.” As the blush crept across Waverly’s face, Nicole realized that she had said that outloud. She quickly tried to recover.

“And aren’t you supposed to be buying me a congratulatory drink?” Waverly saw the out and took it. She waived down the woman wiping down the other end of the bar. She ordered a couple beers and didn’t turn back to Nicole until they were sitting in front of her. 

“So, congratulations.” She clinked her bottle against Nicole’s and took a quick sip. Nicole turned hers up as well, keeping her eyes on Waverly. She sat the bottle down on the bar and nudged Waverly. 

“So, the monsters stayed away last night?” She chuckled as Waverly slapped her arm. 

“Yes, thank you.” She rolled her eyes at Nicole, taking another sip of her beer. 

It didn’t take long before they had fallen into easy conversation in the mostly empty bar. A few beers later, Nicole was starting to feel a little buzzed and remembered that she had only eaten a pretzel at lunch. She should probably stop drinking. Waverly seemed to be feeling the effects too, as she was leaning easily on Nicole’s shoulder. She was not aware that they had stopped talking until Waverly spoke up, barely above a whisper. 

“I’m really glad I met you Nicole.” As she spoke, she placed a hand softly on Nicole’s thigh. Her mind was racing as she reached down and placed her hand over Waverly’s. She felt the woman beside her turn slowly and bury her face in her neck. A shiver ran down her spine and it took every ounce of self control she had not to moan. She knew that she couldn’t take this much longer. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the high she had been riding all day at the thought of her upcoming change of career. Either way, she knew that she had to do something. 

“Listen Waverly, I need to talk to you about last night. When I was leaving you….” She was cut off as Waverly got up, grabbing her hand in the process, and pulled her towards the back of the bar. They were soon through the bathroom door, and Waverly turned to lock it.

“Waverly, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I need to talk to you.” The sentence had barely left her lips when Waverly closed the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and crashed their lips together. She was in so much shock, she didn’t respond for a split second. Soon though, her arms were wrapped around Waverly’s waist, pulling her tight against her. This felt so right and she could feel a fire burning low in her belly. She easily scooped Waverly up, pressing her back against the bathroom door. She took the hint, wrapping her toned legs around the taller woman’s waist. She moaned softly into Nicole’s lips as she was held in place by strong hands. Nicole had wanted this for so long, she could feel every nerve on end as she slid one hand higher on Waverly’s thigh. The moan that escaped Waverly’s lips was music to her ears and only encouraged her more. She adjusted her hips and felt Waverly’s body rock against hers. This time it was her turn to moan and she slid her hand between their bodies. She could feel how wet Waverly was getting even through her jeans. She could only imagine the overflowing in her own underwear. It was almost too much for her to handle. 

She also knew that she had to be sure before she continued. She broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to Waverly’s. 

“Waverly, are you sure this is what you want?”

“This is all I’ve been able to think about for days.” The low purr in Waverly’s voice almost pushed Nicole over the edge.

She gently sat Waverly back on the ground, not missing the look of disappointment on her face. She softly kissed Waverly one last time before taking her hand and unlocking the bathroom door. 

“Then lets get out of here.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking Waverly back to her aparment, things do not go as planned for Nicole

The two sprinted through the rain and made it to the car in no time. As they climbed in, Nicole leaned over and kissed Waverly softly, starting up the car before reaching out for her hand. They drove in silence, the tension evident to both of them. As they finally made it through the apartment door, it was Waverly’s turn to push Nicole against the wall. Their lips crashed together and every nerve was on fire. She had wanted this from the time that she saw the beautiful brunette, yet a small voice in the back of her head was still telling her that she should stop. She pushed those thoughts away and pulled the beautiful woman in front of her into her arms. 

She wound her hands up Waverly’s body, loving the way she seemed to melt into her. She trailed fingers down and slid her palms under the edge of Waverly’s shirt, tracing the skin there. Waverly seemed to be getting impatient, though, and she quickly pulled her tshirt off before starting to unbutton Nicole’s shirt. Nicole couldn’t help but stare down at the sight in front of her. She ran her fingers along the soft skin just above the edge of her jean shorts. She had to take a deep breath and close her eyes. She was so close to just ripping Waverly’s clothes off and fucking her against the apartment door, but she knew she could do better.

She quickly picked up the smaller woman and headed towards the bedroom. Once she sat her down on the edge of the bed, she shrugged her shirt off and reached for Waverly’s shorts. She was a little surprised when Waverly stopped her. 

“Listen, Nicole, I have to tell you something.” With this, Nicole dropped her hand and took a small step back from the woman on her bed. Waverly must have seen the look on her face because she immediately sat up and reached out for Nicole’s hand. Nicole let her take it, but didn’t close the distance. 

“It’s just that I’ve never...at least not with a woman...I just…” she sputtered, as the blush that was previously colored her cheeks, now crept down her neck and chest.

Nicole couldn’t help but giggle as understanding washed over her. She knelt down in front of where Waverly sat on the edge of her bed. She rubbed her hands slowly up Waverly’s thighs reassuringly.

“Waverly, we don’t have to do anything that you are uncomfortable with. But I can promise that I won’t disappoint you.” As she spoke, she leaned in closer to the beautiful woman and kissed her softly as her fingers reached the apex of her thighs. Waverly moaned into the kiss and she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. Her legs were easily parted as Nicole pushed her way in between them. It took just a few moments before Nicole pulled back and unbuttoned Waverly’s tight jean shorts. The younger woman quickly caught on and adjusted her hips so Nicole could pull the shorts off of her. 

Once they were off, she gestured for Waverly to sit back. She watched as the brunette leaned back on her elbows and smiled down at her before she turned her attention to something much lower. All the air seemed to leave Nicole’s lungs as she stared down at the thin piece of fabric between Waverly’s legs. She didn’t have to touch the fabric to tell that it was soaked,which caused the warmth pooling between her own legs to increase to an almost unbearable level. She leaned in closer, placing a soft kiss on the inside of Waverly’s thigh. The moan that drifted to her ears from the woman above her was all she needed to coax her to move higher. She kissed her way up until she reached her goal and pulled the underwear to the side, slowly running her tongue along her slit. Waverly tasted more amazing than Nicole could have dreamed of and she ran her tongue along her sex again, applying more pressure. Without wasting another moment, she removed the offending fabric and settled between Waverly’s legs. She quickly moved to Waverly’s clit, sucking it softly into her mouth and moving her tongue clockwise, then counter clockwise in circles around it. Waverly’s hips were already jumping with each pass of her tongue. She moaned against Waverly’s clit when she felt fingers in her hair, tugging lightly. She paused long enough to shred what was left of her clothes. By the time she was done, she noticed Waverly had done the same. The beautiful, now naked, woman was stretched out on her bed, watching her every move. Nicole couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the goddess in front of her. Her whole body was alive and reacting to the sight and she couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her at the hungry look in Waverly’s eyes. She crawled onto the bed, pressing their skin together and kissing Waverly with the same attentiveness that she had just been giving her clit. Waverly moved below her and she gently kissed down her neck, running the tips of her fingers against the smooth skin of this goddess’ stomach. As her fingers slid lower, she pulled back just enough to watch Waverly’s face as her fingers entered her. She felt the body below her rise to meet her fingers and she settled her thigh between those perfect legs, letting Waverly set her own rhythm. She was in such amazement of the woman beneath her that she didn’t notice the hands that had worked their way to her back until nails were biting into her skin. She lowered her head and breathed roughly into Waverly’s neck. She picked up her pace, trying to concentrate on the feel of the tightening around her fingers. It didn’t take long before Waverly was dragging her nails down Nicole’s back, and Nicole knew that she was fighting the orgasm with everything she had. Nicole knew the feeling as she was on the precipice herself. She gently ran her tongue along the shell of Waverly’s ear and whispered hotly.

“Come for me baby.”

That was all it took to send Waverly toppling over the edge. As she sank her teeth into the soft skin of Nicole’s shoulder, she sent the redhead tumbling too. It took a few moments for them to both catch their breath and, once they did, Nicole rolled off of Waverly and over onto her back. The brunette took the invitation of Nicole’s open arms and curled herself against her. She could feel the sweat on her body quickly drying and she knew that, if she was cold, surely Waverly was too. Before she could ask though, Waverly spoke up.

“I could lay here all night like this. But is there any way we can do it under the blankets?”

Nicole chuckled and they both moved to slip under the thin blanket Nicole kept on her bed. Once cozy under the blanket, Waverly resumed her place with her head on Nicole’s shoulder. The room fell silent again and Nicole felt at peace for the first time in a while. She knew that good things like this never lasted and that this would probably all look alot different to both of them come sunrise, but right now she was content just to have the beautiful brunette in her arms. She turned her head to softly kiss Waverly’s forehead and wrapped the arm around her waist just a little bit tighter. Waverly returned the favor by tightening the arm that she had draped across Nicole’s stomach. 

Their peace was soon interrupted though by the sound of one, then two notification tones sounding from the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. Waverly quickly slid out of bed and pulled her phone out of her shorts pocket.

“Shit shit shit.” Waverly muttered harshly, ferociously responding to the text before grabbing her clothes off the floor. 

Nicole watched in silence as the smaller woman who had just been in her arms got redressed and turned to leave the room. Finally, Nicole was able to break from her stupor and grabbed her sports bra and boxers, throwing them on as she exited the room. Luckily, she found Waverly perched on the end of the couch, pulling on the shoes she had discarded upon arriving at the apartment. 

“Waverly, what’s going on? What happened?”

Waverly never met her eyes, only shook her head before stopping to face Nicole one last time. 

“Nicole, I gotta go. It's just….its Champ. I’ll call you later okay?” she finished her sentence as she strolled across the small apartment to the door. Without another word, she disappeared out into the hall. Nicole just stood there dumbstruck. 

Champ? Wasn’t that the name of the guy that Wynonna had been talking about? The guy that Waverly supposedly broke up with? Had the breakup not really happened? Was she really fleeing her bed to run back to him as soon as he called? 

Nicole was kicking herself and was suddenly feeling very very sober. And very very stupid. She knew that this was too good to be true. Waverly had just been using her. She made her way to the kitchen and threw open a cabinet door. She pulled an almost full bottle of Jim Bean down and poured herself a glass. Why did this betrayal feel so much like all those nights of waiting up for Shae, knowing she was in someone else’s bed. She internally scolded herself. Waverly wasn’t hers. She wasn’t Waverly’s. But that didn’t help the sting. She threw back the amber liquid in her glass and quickly poured another. She could feel the burning in the back of her throat and she knew that it was not just the alcohol. It was also the tears that she was determined to keep from falling. 

She took a deep breath and stilled herself. She should have known better and she proceeded anyways. This was her mistake. She slammed back yet another and sat the glass on the edge of the counter before turning back to her room. She didn’t want to look at the mass of blanket still thrown haphazardly on her bed. What she needed was a cold shower. After tossing her phone onto her bed, she headed for the bathroom.

20 minutes later, Nicole stepped out of the shower and dried off, throwing on a baggy tshirt and a pair of boxer briefs before grabbing her phone and heading towards the living room. Once the TV was on, she flopped down on the couch and flipped through the shows until she found a serial killer documentary that she hadn’t yet seen. Even this couldn’t keep her mind from wandering and she was quickly back to thinking about Waverly. Somehow though, a stray thought managed to creep into her mind. What if Shae had been right? What if she really was unlovable? This was the thought that was plaguing her mind as she drifted off to sleep, phone still in hand.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying to cope with the fact that Waverly ran out on her, Nicole must face a life changing job interview. But can she do both?

When Nicole awoke the next morning, she stretched and groaned. She didn’t even remember falling asleep last night. A quick check of her phone told her that it had died sometime in the night and she stomped to the bedroom to put it on the charger. The alarm beside her bed showed that she still had an hour or so until she had to start getting ready for the day. Good. She could really use some food. Her stomach was starting to make ungodly amounts of noise. 

She stuck her phone on the charger and quickly got dressed. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she headed to the kitchen. After digging through the pantry and refrigerator, she decided on an omelette. She had never really liked cooking, but didn’t mind whipping up the delicious breakfast. It was one of the few things that she ever really cooked for Shae while they were together. She had tried multiple times to make something that she would enjoy, but there had always been something wrong with them in Shae’s eyes. Too much salt. Too bland. Not well done. Not cooked long enough. It tasted off. She had even once developed a severe distaste for fish after she had eaten $80 worth of sushi on a business trip the week before. But she wasn't like that with Nicole’s omelettes. Those she would just eat in silence, one of only 2 dishes she made that would garner this sort of reaction. Which honestly, near the end, was enough to make Nicole okay with never receiving any gratitude for the meals that she prepared on the few nights Shae spent at home. 

Once Nicole had finally finished cooking, she plated her food and headed to the table, sitting her plate down before heading back to the bedroom for her phone. Surely it was charged by now. She sat down and started eating, laying her phone on the table as it booted up. She was half way through her omlet when she picked it back up. As she unlocked it, she saw that she had a couple emails and a single text message. She elected the text first. She opened the app and was disappointed to see that it was not from Waverly. Instead it was from Wynonna, asking if she was still coming to the station today. She responded back with a quick “yep”, telling herself that she could not hold Waverly’s actions against her sister. Hell, she couldn’t even hold it against Waverly. 

She shook her head and sat the phone back down, closing her eyes. She would not, no could not, think about Waverly today. She had too much at stake with this interview. She knew that Wynonna had said that she pretty much had the job, but she did not want to get ahead of herself with this. Anything could go wrong. 

She quickly finished her omelette and washed the few dishes that she had dirtied. A quick check of her phone showed that it was almost time to go. She wasn’t looking forward to going into work, but the thought that she would only have to be there for a few hours. Once in her car, she quickly made it to work and power walked in. She greeted the two guards milling around outside the office and pushed her way through the door. She grabbed a walkie and dipped back out the door, clipping it to her hip.

She started on her usual path around the mall and noted that it was a little more crowded than usual. For a moment, she felt a little guilty about leaving early today. What if they needed her today? What if something happened and she wasn’t here to help? She knew that she couldn’t think about it that way. She could do far more good as a police officer. 

As she made her slow loops through the mall, her mind wandered back to Waverly. She tried hard to get the brunette out of her head, but she knew it was useless. The woman was in her every waking thought and she knew that, even after last night, that wouldn’t change. She felt the hot burn of anger bubbling up in her stomach and she knew it was more at herself than at Waverly. She was the pathetic one who had seen something that wasn’t there to begin with. She had only known the petite woman for a few days. What had she really expected?

Soon, it was time for lunch and she shot a quick text to Pete asking what he would like to eat and a promise to have it waiting for him in the office. After getting his brief response, she walked quickly to the food court and gathered the food. She grabbed herself a smoothie while she was there and made a beeline back to the office. She set the whole spread out on the desk and heard the door open moments later. In strolled Pete, looking like he had just rolled out of bed. 

“Hard night Pete?” Nicole chucked as she asked the older guard.

“Get out of her Haught before I change my mind about covering for ya.” Nicole didn’t need to be told twice and all but sprinted to her car. As she reached her car, her phone vibrated with a text from Waverly. Just one word. "Sorry". Nicole put the phone back in her pocket. She threw her car into drive and headed quickly to the sheriff's station. Once there, she perked off to the side and checked her appearance in the mirror. She looked better than she felt, she had to admit. After getting out of the car, she smoothed out her shirt and pants and headed towards the front door. 

As she came through the door, she was quickly greeted by a smiling blonde behind a desk. 

“Hi, how can I help you today?” 

“Hi, I’m Nicole Haught. I’m here to see Sheriff Nedley.” Nicole didn’t expect to see the woman’s smile get bigger, but it did.

“So you are the hot shot new hire daddy has been talking about! I’m Chrissy Nedley.” She reached out to shake Nicole’s hand and held it just a bit longer than was necessary before dropping her hand and motioning for Nicole to follow her. They made their way back to the Sheriff’s office, where an older gentleman sat, appearing to be buried in paperwork. A quick rap on the door was all it took for him to look up. 

“Sherriff, this is Nicole Haught, here to speak with you.” At this, Chrissy turned on her heels and walked off, shooting a big smile towards Nicole. 

Nicole turned to face the sheriff, who had now stood from his chair, hand extended.

“Mrs. Haught, nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard lots of good things about you.” Now Nicole was wondering even more exactly what Wynonna said about her. When Nedley gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, Nicole quickly sat down. 

“Nice to finally meet you too sir. And you can just call me Nicole.” She shot her best smile his way and was rewarded with another in return. 

“Well Nicole, while Wynonna did paint a rather dashing picture of you, I wouldn’t be a good sheriff if I didn’t do a little research. I actually have an old buddy at the academy. He remembers you vividly. Said you were one of the best recruits he’s seen in a long time. So, do you have any questions for me before we get started?” Nicole shook her head, unable to settle on a singular thing that she could think to ask. 

“Alright then, well I only really have two questions for you: when can you start and how does this starting pay sound?” He wrote a number on a piece of paper in front of him and spun it towards Nicole. 

“It’s not much, but it's all I can afford to pay you right now as a new deputy.” A quick glance at the number and Nicole saw that it was almost twice what she was making as a security guard. 

“I can start whenever you need me too. And the pay is more than enough.” 

“Well, in that case, welcome to the force Mrs. Hau...Nicole.” He shook her hand again and made his way around the desk. 

“I guess I should probably show you around.” He made his way out the door and Nicole followed. The station was small and the tour didn’t take long. As they made their way around to the cells, Nicole saw that only one was occupied. 

“And this is the holding cells, with one of our frequent fliers.” He pointed towards the man walking up to the bars.

“Come on Nedley, let me out. I’m sober now. This is bull.”

“Pipe down son. You’ll get out when I say you do.” They turned and exited the small room housing the cells.

“You’ll probably be seeing that sorry mug around her pretty often. He thinks he’s hot shit because he used to be a rodeo star, but Champ Hardy is just a menace in this town these days.”

Nicole stopped in her tracks. Champ Hardy? As in, Waverly’s Champ? Now she really wanted to go back and kick his ass just on principle. But honestly, it wasn’t his fault that Waverly had fled from her last night. But the jealousy that she felt was enough to make her want to rearrange his face just on principle. When she realized she had fallen several steps behind, she quickly closed the distance between them as the Sheriff stopped in front of a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.

“And this door, we never opened. Not unless you want to have a gun drawn on you. These offices are cordoned off for BBD, some classified government department that strolled into town a few months ago and took over. Luckily, they generally stay out of our business so long as we stay out of theirs.” As he finished his sentence, she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door and it was quickly thrown open. 

“Nedley, I knew I smelled donuts! What brings you to our lovely doorstep this afternoon?” Nedley only nodded towards Nicole and she saw Wynonna’s expression change.

“Haught Stuff, you're here! Please tell me that this old donut dumpster has already given you this position?” Nicole cringed slightly at Wynonna’s words. This was her new boss after all.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Nedley knows I’ve been doing everything in my power to jar that stick up his ass loose for some time now.” She elbowed the older man at her side and he rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, by the way, Waverly just left to go pick up lunch if you wanna hang out for a bit. Tell her the good news.” Nicole felt a knot form in her stomach as she shook her head. There was a part of her that wanted desperately to see Waverly, but her pride would not let her. 

“Actually, if Sheriff Nedley is done with me, I have some stuff I need to get taken care of.” She turned quickly to the sheriff, who advised that he was indeed done with her. After promising to see him bright and early in the morning, she took off from the Sheriff’s department. As she reached her car, she saw a familiar Jeep pulling into the parking lot. She unlocked her car and hopped in, praying Waverly hadn’t seen her. She still hadn’t responded to her text. She waited until the Jeep pulled into a parking space across the small parking lot before she backed out and headed towards the exit. She heard her phone start to ring and a quick glance told her it was Waverly. She tossed the phone into her passenger seat, turning up the radio to drown out the sound of her phone. She wasn’t sure when the phone actually stopped ringing, but she refused to even glance at it until she was parked and getting out at the apartment. 

She tucked her phone into her pocket and made her way to the elevador. She made it to her apartment door and let out the breath that she had been holding as she locked the door behind her. She knew that Waverly was probably still at the Sheriff’s department, but that didn’t keep the anxiety at the thought of running into her so soon at bay. She again thought of seeing Champ and her blood began to boil. From the way Nedley talked, he was definitely every bit of the asshat that Wynonna said he was. Why the hell had Waverly fled back to him? 

As if on cue, her phone vibrated in her pocket and she hesitantly slid it out of her pocket. She knew without looking that it was Waverly.

Why are you ignoring me? Wynonna said that you had left in a hurry when she said I was coming back. Nicole, I can explain about last night. I’m so sorry I left like that. 

Nicole wanted to fall back under Waverly’s spell, but she had learned her lesson. She quickly locked her phone and sat it on the kitchen counter, grabbing water out of the fridge. She knew that she was being childish by not responding to Waverly and letting her try to explain, but she could not let herself be hurt again by someone who would never feel for her the way she felt for them. What if she had just been some experiment for Waverly? The burning in her stomach was still there, but was being rapidly replaced with a feeling of worthlessness. Maybe someday she would be good enough for someone to just stay. To choose her and only her. 

If she let herself keep falling down this dark hole, she knew that it would not end well. She tried to just breathe and sip her water, but finally decided to take a shower. Maybe the hot water and the steam would help. Showers seemed to be her go to recently. The water had always been calming to Nicole. 

She left her phone on the counter and headed to the bathroom, shedding clothes as she went. She dropped the clothing in the hamper and turned on the shower, waiting until the steem started billowing out before she stepped in. 

The water immediately stung her skin, but she welcomed the burn. As she turned to let the water hit her back and shoulders, she felt a surprising sting as the water washed over the scratches on her back. She drew in a deep breath as the memories of last night suddenly flooded over her. On the tail of those memories came others. Other nights that she had stood in the shower and felt the water stinging the cuts across her body that Shae had left there, either from sex or in a fit of anger. And sometimes both. In the beginning, Nicile had liked a little pain with her sex, but Shae had soon taken it too far. But by that point, there was no turning back. 

Nicole wasn’t aware of the tears running down her face until she felt her chest grow tight in a sob. Her legs didn’t feel like they could hold her body any longer and she sank to the floor. She continued to sit there, tears mixing with the water from the shower, until she had no more tears to shed. She was suddenly very tired and her eyes hurt from all the tears shed. 

She managed to push herself to her feet and turn off the water before stepping out of the shower. She refused to look at herself in the mirror, instead electing to wrap herself in a soft towel and make her way to her bedroom. She would feel the water dripping off her hair, but she couldn’t find the energy to care. 

After pulling on a plain white tshirt and a pair of plaid boxers, she made her way back into the main part of the apartment. She glanced over at the couch, contemplating watching a movie, but was weary of falling asleep on it again. She could still see the sunlight drifting in under the curtains and knew that it was far too early to be asleep. Maybe she could just watch some TV on her phone from bed. 

After snagging her phone off the counter and another bottle of water from the fridge, she drug herself back to bed. Once she was comfy between the sheets, she unlocked her phone. There was another text from Waverly, which she closed without reading. She was done crying tonight. She noticed that she also had a notification from an email address that seemed suspiciously familiar. She hesitantly opened it and felt her heart in her throat. 

Hey Nicole,  
Not sure if you even still use this email, seeing as you changed your phone number and didn’t respond to my last attempt to contact you. I know you said not to contact you, and I’ve tried, I really have. But I really think we should talk. You know that you mean more to me than anything else in the world and I just wanna make sure that you’re okay. We have a lot to talk about. If you see this, please dont ignore it. If you see this, meet me at the cafe on 5th at noon tomorrow. We will have lunch. I miss you. And I do still love you.  
Love always,  
Shae

Nicole stared at the phone for what seemed like hours. The stirring in her chest was not unfamiliar to her. This was the Shae that she had fallen for. The facade of a loving, caring partner who only wanted the best for her. Every atom in her body was telling her to just delete the email. Let her think that she no longer used this email. But what if Shae had been right all those nights ago? The night of their last fight. What if no one else would ever love her like that? 

Her thoughts were racing as she sat the phone down and stared up at the ceiling. Better the devil you know right? She blew out all the air in her lungs as she picked the phone. With shaking hands, she sent one of the shortest emails she had ever composed. Just one word

Okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole has a big day and is not sure how to cope

Nicole awoke in a cold sweat. She could see the moonlight creeping under the curtains in her bedroom and a quick check of the clock told her it was only 2:30AM. She could only brief flashes of the nightmare she had been having. Waverly was there. Shae was there. Waverly had called her worthless. Shae had beat her. She knew that she would not be able to go back to sleep any time soon. 

She slid out of bed, grabbing her phone and the water bottle still sitting on her nightstand. After trudging to the kitchen for the cookie dough ice cream she had stashed in the kitchen for such an occasion, she turned to head to the couch, grabbing a spoon on the way. 

She settled down and turned on the TV, not sure exactly what to watch. She wasn’t really in the mood for a comedy, she couldn’t do a romance, and horror movies were out of the question. She settled on a historical drama and settled in. She was barely paying any attention to what was happening on the screen. Instead, she was putting most of her attention on picking the cookie pieces out of the ice cream. It used to drive Shae crazy, but it was Nicole’s favorite part. Once she had cleared out all the cookie dough that she could see, she moved on to eating the ice cream. 

Before long, half the carton was gone. Nicole sat it on the coffee table and reached out to check her phone. She wasn’t sure if she was upset or relieved to see no new messages. It was the middle of the night though. Not sure what she expected. 

She tossed it down onto the couch beside her and turned her attention back to the TV. She knew that she only had a few hours until she had to be up and getting ready for work. She also knew that she would regret sleeping on the couch, but there was no way that she could go back to her bed right now. She went to the bedroom and grabbed one of her pillows off the bed and then was back on the couch, pulling a throw blanket around her. Once she had turned the TV down a little and set an alarm, she stretched out the full length of the couch and snuggled down. She wasn’t sure how long she laid staring up at the screen before her eyes finally fluttered shut. 

The blaring of the alarm jarred Nicole awake and she shut it off quickly, blinking back against the light that had filled the apartment. She laid staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before finally rolling off the couch and stretching. As she made her way to the bedroom, she felt her heartbeat start to quicken. She started her new job today. She had sent out an email to her boss yesterday, explaining the situation. He had wished her well and told her there would always be a spot open for her if she decided to come back to being a guard. 

Not only did she start her new job today though. She had agreed to meet Shae. She still wasn’t sure if she could actually go through with it. She didn’t want to fall back into old habits. 

She shook the thoughts from her head and quickly got dressed. Once she had her shirt tucked in, she doubt checked herself in the mirror. She had run out of the sheriff’s department so quickly yesterday that she had forgotten to ask about uniforms. Surely, she could just change at work. Once she was convinced that she was as ready as she would ever be, she gathered her things and headed out. 

Soon, she was parked in front of the sheriff’s department. She could feel the excitement welling up in her chest and she was out the door quickly. The blonde from the day before wasn’t sitting behind the desk, so Nicole just made her way to the back. It wasn’t hard to get to the sheriff’s office and she leaned against the door frame and rapped her knuckles on the door, startling the man behind the desk. 

“Jesus Nicole! You about gave me a damn heart attack. I didn’t think anyone else would be in this early. Glad to know you are punctual though.” He seemed to have just noticed that she was in jeans and a button up shirt. 

“Yea, I forgot to getcha a uniform yesterday. I have a whole bunch of them back in the back. Let's go find ya something.” She followed him to a storage room in the back of the department. It was barely bigger than a closet, but stacked high with boxes. After a little bit of digging, she was luckily able to find a few shirts that fit and a couple pairs of what she could only assume was the PD version of khakis. She quickly stuck her head out the door and yelled back to Nedley.

“Hey, how up for debate are these khakis?” She immediately received an answer.

“Not at all.” Nicole just shrugged. At least she was able to find some that fit. She made her way to the locker rooms that Nedley had pointed out the previous day and changed over into her uniform. She looked herself over in the full length mirror on the back of the door. She didn’t look half bad. 

Once she had gathered up all of her clothes, she rushed to her SUV, dumping it all in the back before making her way back in. She met Nedley back in his office and slid into one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“So, Sheriff Nedley, where would you like me to start? Patrol around town? Follow up on reports?”

“Easy now Nicole, before you go fighting crime all over town, I do still have some forms for you to fill out. This morning you’ll probably be riding a desk, but if you can get through all of it before lunch, I’ll show you around town this afternoon.”

Nicole smiled and nodded at Nedley, satisfied to just be doing paperwork for now. After being pointed to a desk just a little ways outside of the office, she sat down with a stack of paperwork that she was convinced was at least 100 pages long. Most of it was just signing and initialling. Some of the pages were just repeatedly writing personal info, like SSN, DOB, and address. She wasn’t even aware that she had been sitting for hours until a box of donuts was dropped unceremoniously in front of her. She looked up to see Wynonna waving as she walked away towards the door for BBD. Had she said something to Nicole and she was just too lost in paperwork to hear her? Or was Wynonna not speaking to her now? Did she know what had transpired between her and Waverly? 

The door had been closed for several minutes before Nicole finally looked away and reached into the box of donuts, pulling out a glazed one. She held it in one hand while she wrote with the other. She had finally made it through all of the paperwork when she glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was already 11:45 AM. She gathered up the papers and walked them back to Nedley’s office. 

“Hey, sir, is there any particular time I need to take my lunch? I kinda have something I need to get taken care of, but not until noon.”

Nedley glanced up at the clock, asking if she had gotten all of the paperwork done. When she confirmed that she had, he shooed her out of the office, advising her to just make sure she was back by 1 PM. 

She was able to make it out to her SUV before the shaking started. She sat behind the wheel for a few minutes, just trying to catch her breath. She had agreed to this. And there was some part of her that still wanted to see Shae after all this time. She put the car in reverse, pulling out of the parking spot, and heading toward the cafe. When she finally pulled up outside, it was 11:57 AM. She made her way inside, scanning the customers. Luckily, she didn’t see Shae. She chose a corner booth and ordered a coffee. She started out the window, sipping the coffee until something at the door caught her eye. As she turned her head, brown eyes caught hers. Her whole body went cold as those eyes seemed to stare straight into her, accompanied by a devilishly sweet smile. Shae was soon at the table, reaching for Nicole’s hand to pull her into a hug. Her whole body was tense, but this didn’t stop Shae from hugging her tightly before she sat down.

When they were both finally settled, Shae flagged down a waitress and ordered a black coffee. Once it was delivered, she turned to Nicole.

“So, tell me, what have you been up to? Looks like you finally made it as a cop.” She gestured toward Nicole’s uniform. “Gotta say, its sexy as hell.” She bit her lip, looking Nicole up and down. It felt like she was suddenly naked. Her skin was on fire and the memories of Shae’s hands running up and down her body make her want to get up and bolt from the coffee shop. Shae must have sensed the distress on her face, because she reached across the table and took her hand. 

“Hey, babe, what’s wrong? Look, I just want to make sure that you’re okay. You know, you can always come back home…” Nicole wanted so badly to pull away, but she could feel Shae’s fingers tightening around her own. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. It would be so much easier to just go back to Shae. She knew that she would never want for anything if she did. But was it worth it?

She was jerked out of her thoughts by a familiar face walking through the door. Waverly didn’t seem to notice her at first and she was glad. She never did respond to any of her texts. She still sank a little lower in her seat. Her relief was short lived, as Waverly spotted her as she was picking up her coffee and made her way over to them. Nicole had to appreciate her tenacity. 

“Hi, Nicole. I just wanted to say I’m sorry again. Guess you haven’t been getting my text?” Before Nicole had a chance to answer, Shae quickly piped up. 

“And who are you exactly?” Nicole could hear the bite behind her words and she cringed for Waverly but Waverly seemed to be able to hold her own.

“I’m Waverly, Nicole’s….neighbor. And you are?” 

“I’m Shae, her wife.”

With that, Waverly turned without a word and walked quickly from the cafe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her big lunch with Shae, Wynonna confronts Nicole about her recent behavior. Nicole is faced with the choice to spill her secret to the sister's, or risk losing them both.

Nicole watched Waverly go, unable to make her legs move to chase after her. She hadn’t considered Shae her wife in a very long time. Long before she ever built up the courage to leave. It was just a piece of paper, but Nicole knew that it meant so much more to Shae. It was a bill of ownership. She had made it perfectly clear from the moment that she had said I do that she was just another possession of Shae’s. 

It took her a moment to notice that her hand was still being tightly held. Nicole jerked it away as she turned to look at her. 

“Why are you here Shae? I agreed to talk, but I don’t think this is just about checking up on me.” As she spoke, she placed her hands in her lap and out of the reach of the long fingers still splayed across the table top. 

“Baby, I want you to come back home. We’ve both had some time to cool off. I’m sure we’ve both had a lot of time to think about how we left things. I tried to respect your wishes, but I just miss you so much. My life isn’t the same without you in it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in this marriage that I know I can’t take back. But let me show you I can do better. Please, give us another chance.”

Her words were almost soothing to Nicole. She had never thought that she would hear Shae apologize for the way she had acted. Maybe she had changed? As soon as this thought crossed her mind though, she felt a twinge of phantom pain run across her back. She knew better than this. She couldn’t let this woman back into her life. 

“Shae, I appreciate the apology, but there is nothing left of us. I think it’s better if we just go our separate ways. You can contact me as it pertains to the divorce, but I would prefer if you left me alone otherwise.” Nicole slid out of her seat and stood up, taking a step towards the door. Something made her hesitate, and when she turned around, Shae’s face was unreadable.

“Goodbye Shae.”

With that, she walked out of the cafe, wondering what in the hell she was supposed to be feeling. For some reason, she didn’t feel any type of relief about asking for a divorce. She just felt hollow. She knew that she couldn’t have all this weighing on her mind while she was at work. She quickly got into her car and turned up the radio. Maybe she would drown everything out until she made it back to the station.

She made it there in what seemed like just a couple minutes, and she turned down the radio as she pulled back into the parking spot she had previously vacated. 

Once inside, she swung by Nedley’s office. 

“Hey, we still doing that ride along this afternoon?”

Nedley groaned from behind his desk, sitting the last bite of his burger down. 

“Yea, go grab a set of keys to one of the cruisers. You’re driving kid.”

Nicole bounded out of the office and quickly acquired a set of keys. By the time she had pulled around front from the cruiser lot out back, Nedley was waiting. After he hopped in, he began giving Nicole directions. They made their way around town, Nedley pointing out different locations and areas that she would need to get herself familiar with. It was an easy drive and, when Nedley wasn’t giving directions, they fell into a peaceful silence. Once the sheriff seemed to be satisfied that Nicole had gotten a pretty good lay of the land, he directed her to pull over onto a side ride and turn around. Once she did, Nedley began to stretch in his seat.

“Okay kid, here’s your chance to do some real cop work,” as he spoke he reached between them and pulled out a radar gun.

“See if you can catch some speeders. While you do that, I’m gonna take a nap.” He leaned back his seat and stretched out, snoring within just a few minutes. 

They sat there for the next couple hours, but Nicole barely saw any cars. She thought about taking a nap like Nedley was, but that would probably look real bad on her first day. She amused herself by going over everything in the vehicle within view, making a list of any questions that she had for Nedley. When Nedley started to wake, she sat up straighter to make it seem like she had been on high alert the whole time. 

“So, I take it we didn’t get anyone?”

“Nope, I’m starting to think this might have not been the best place to wait on speeders.” Nedley just chuckled at this.

“Yea, but it’s a good place to nap. I didn’t want to give you too much on your first day, even though I’m sure you could handle it. What do ya say we do a quick patrol and head back to the station?” Nicole nodded and started up the cruiser. 

It didn’t take too long for them to have made a loop around the area and then Nicole headed back to the station. As she was pulling in, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Afraid it might be Shae, she ignored it. 

Once back into the station, she headed towards her desk.

“Hey Nicole, it's pretty quiet around here. How about you take off early today? I didn’t really expect for you to knock all that paperwork out so quickly.”

Never one to just dip out of work early, she debated on staying anyways. But after the conversation with Shae on lunch and what happened with Waverly, she was ready to be back in her own apartment. 

As she climbed into her SUV, her phone vibrated again. She knew she couldn’t avoid it for the rest of the night. A quick check showed that she had two messages, one from Wynonna, one from Waverly. She opened the one from Waverly first.

I guess I know why you ghosted me now. You could have just told me you were married. 

Nicole wanted to slap herself at the thought of hurting Waverly. But she had hurt her first. She had chosen Champ. 

When she opened the one from Wynonna, her stomach dropped.

Are you still at the station? If so, we really need to talk. You fucked up Haught Shit. 

She debated not answering either message. She could go home, lock herself away, and not deal with any of it. But she knew that would only make things worse. Plus, it's not like Wynonna didn’t know where she lived. She shot a quick message to Wynonna explaining that she was still sitting out in her car and asking if she needed to come back in. A reply came back almost immediately.

Already on my way out. Don’t move.

She sat on pins and needles, waiting on Wynonna to reach her. Did she know everything that had happened with Waverly? Did she know about Shae and the cafe today? 

Nicole almost jumped out of her skin as her passenger door was thrown open and Wynonna hopped in. As soon as the door was closed beyond her, Wynonna turned in her seat and slugged Nicole hard in her right arm.

“Ow Wynonna, what was that for?”

“Just drive Nicole.” Wynonna had turned and was staring out the windshield.

“Okay, but where?” Nicole tried not to make it too obvious that she was nervous about the angry woman in her passenger seat. 

“I don’t care. Anywhere but here. Waverly is gonna be back here anytime and she doesn’t need to see me rearrange your face if you can’t explain yourself.”

Nicole knew better than to argue. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed back out of town. She pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned store and killed the engine. Nothing was said by either woman for a couple minutes. Finally, Nicole swallowed her pride and turned to Wynonna.

“What do you want to know?”

“First of all, why have you just ghosted Waverly? She’s been moping around for the last 2 days, she is always checking her phone, and she hardly wants to talk to me. All she will tell me is that you don’t want anything to do with her anymore. I wouldn’t have taken you for someone to just throw someone away like that. I actually thought you were a good person.” 

Nicole hung her head and tried to swallow down the tears. Why was she so upset? Waverly had made her decision. Nicole wouldn’t be treated like a toy. With this, she felt the tears start to fall and an anger bubble up.

“Wynonna, Waverly made her choice. I just don’t want to be played with. I mistakenly thought she was interested in me. But she jumped and ran as soon as Champ called. So I don’t know why she cares?” Nicole tried to hide the fact that her voice was shaking by the end. 

“What the hell do you mean she jumped and ran when….” something seemed to click for Wynonna and she punched Nicole again. “You big dumb ginger! Champ wasn’t the one who tried to get a hold of her! I WAS! That big dumbass was at Shorty’s, drunk and breaking things. Though I didn’t want to involve her, Nedley asked if I could have her come down and try to calm him down. I was about to kick his ass myself. She probably prevented both of us from winding up in jail.”

Nicole sat back, trying to digest this new information. But why hadn’t Waverly just told her that? She could have text her or called her once everything had calmed down. She spoke without looking at Wynonna.

“Why didn’t she just tell me that?”

“Haught, she tried. Her phone died well before she got home and she didn’t wanna wake you by knocking on your door. She said she tried to text you the next day, but you wouldn’t answer her.”

Nicole leaned her head on her steering wheel and groaned. She had screwed up. Badly. She really was a big dumb ginger. Waverly had just been trying to help and Nicole had gotten so upset and stuck on thinking the worst that she had probably ruined things with the only person that had made her this happy in a long time, if ever. 

“And from what I hear, Haught, you aren’t exactly the faithful type. A wife? Really? Don’t think that was something you should have mentioned?”

At this, Nicole couldn’t hold in the tears any longer.

“Oh no, Haught Shit, tears aren’t going to work with me.” Wynonna crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Nicole. But after a moment, her expression softened. 

“Shit, Haught. Listen, you don’t have to explain. It’s your business if…” Nicole sat up, wiping her eyes, and cutting Wynonna off.

“No, you deserve an explanation. So does Waverly. It’s not something I like talking about.”

“Then lets go. I’ll tell her to meet us back at the apartment. I have a bottle of scotch in the cabinet.” Nicole didn’t respond, just started the car and headed towards home. Luckily, it was a short drive. 

They reached the apartment building and headed inside together, once Nicole had gathered all of her clothing out of her backseat. The elevator ride was quiet. The silence was broken finally by Nicole once they reached their floor.

“I’m just gonna drop these by my apartment and then I will be over okay?”

Wynonna stared Nicole down for a moment before sighing and finally responding.

“Haught, I don’t deserve an explanation, but she does. Don’t chicken out.”

Nicole just nodded and headed into her apartment, tossing the clothes on the bed. She contemplated changing clothes, but knew that the longer she waited, the harder it would be. She untucked her shirt and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked a whole lot better than she felt. She splashed cold water on her face, then gathered herself and headed for her door. 

In a matter of seconds, she was standing in front of the Earps’ door. A deep breath, then she knocked. The door was pulled open almost immediately by Wynonna, who ushered her inside. She still wasn’t sure she could do this, but both sisters had been too nice to her to not have the truth. 

“Waverly is in her room. Should be out in a sec. In the meantime, I’ll pour you a drink. You look like a spooked horse about to bolt.”

Nicole followed her into the kitchen and perched on a bar stool. Soon, there was a glass of scotch in front of her. She sloshed it around before downing it. She could feel Wynonna’s eyes on her and she tried not to squirm. When she was finally able to meet those eyes, she could almost see the questions flashing across Wynonna’s face. But before she had time to ask them, her eyes darted to something over her shoulder and she turned to see Waverly standing behind her.

“Hi Nicole.” The words seemed to squeak out of her and it broke Nicole’s heart. 

“Hi Waverly.”

She walked closer to them, but seemed to decide against sitting beside Nicole. Instead, she walked around the bar and grabbed a glass, pouring herself a drink and leaning against the bar beside Wynonna.

“Listen, Waverly, I want to say I’m sorry for not giving you a chance to explain. I thought the worst when you said it was Champ. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I was so afraid that you were just using me that I let myself believe it was true. That’s not the kind of person I think you are. It was my own insecurities.” Nicole could barely meet Waverly’s eyes, but she knew that this was something that she had to face. 

“And exactly what kind of person are you Nicole? You didn’t think to mention you were married?” The anger in Waverly’s voice cut through Nicole and she dropped her gaze, staring at her hands. 

“That’s why you’re both here. You both deserve the truth. I haven’t been really forthcoming about my past. It’s not something I really like to talk about. You see, when Shae and I were together, it wasn’t a healthy relationship. She wasn’t faithful for most of our marriage. And she had a horrible temper. She used to take all that anger out on me and for a while I believed that I deserved it.” Nicole paused to collect her thoughts, and heard the smallest of whispers from Waverly.

“The scars.”

Nicole and Wynonna both looked at the smaller brunette. Nicole just nodded. Before she continued, she stood up. She thought better when she paced. 

“It took me a long time to leave. She convinced me for so long that I deserved what she did to me. That she was the only one who would ever love me or make me happy. I believed her for so long. About 6 months ago, I got up the courage to leave. I packed up as much as I could fit in my car and I left. Changed my number and asked her not to contact me. It’s been radio silent since then. I knew I needed to get a divorce, but I was terrified that she would find me. She contacted me via email and asked to meet to talk. It was going to be a public place and I….I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe that she had changed. I think a part of me was hoping that she was going to be the one to initiate the divorce. But when that didn’t happen, I asked her for one. I just want this all to be over.” She looked up with tears in her eyes, noticing the look of concern written all over Wynonna’s face and the tears slowly running down Waverly’s.

“Waverly, I’m so sorry. I never meant for you to get caught up in this. You don’t deserve…” She was quickly cut off by Waverly’s lips crashing into hers. The warmth that spread through her and the relief she felt was almost enough to lift her feet off the floor. 

“Ew, gross. Don’t need to see that guys.” Their lips broke apart, but Nicole kept one arm wrapped around Waverly’s waste. The younger brunette laid her head on Nicole’s check and whispered quietly “I’ve missed you.”

Nicole kissed the top of her head, catching Wynonna doing her best not to smile.

“Okay guys, since you two have made up, whatcha say we get some dinner? I’m not cooking, but I could go for some tacos. No pun intended Haught.”

Nicole couldn’t help but laugh and agreed that tacos sounded delicious. Even though Nicole hated to let go of the angel now back in her arms, she knew that she needed to get changed. She agreed to meet them back at their apartment in 20 minutes and they would all head out. Nicole was grinning ear-to-ear as she opened the door to her apartment. As she shut the door behind her, she heard someone clear their throat. She turned slowly to see Shae sitting at her bar, having helped herself to Nicole’s alcohol. 

“You didn’t think I’d really let you get away that easy did you?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole has to relive the abuse she tried to run from. But will this be the last time, or will Shae drag her back to hell?  
> *Trigger Warning* Graphic physical abuse scene.

Nicole pressed her back against the door, keenly aware of the distance between her and the woman sitting at her bar. She wasn’t sure what made her more uneasy: the fact that Shae knew where she lived or the fact that she was positive she had locked her door when she had left. 

“Now, I know that you think that this is over and you just get to walk away. But we said forever Nicole. You can’t just decide you’re done.” Though her voice was even and outwardly appeared calm, Nicole could hear the malice in it. Her whole body froze when Shae slid off the barstool and started making her way across the room to Nicole. 

“Shae, you need to leave. You...you can’t be here.” As she spoke, Shae had closed the distance and was now inches from her, running her palm down Nicole’s cheek. Even though Nicole knew what was coming, it still shocked her when the hand was drawn back and connected with her cheek. Before she could recoup from the slap, the same hand was around her throat and Shae’s breath was hot as she whispered ominously in her ear.

“You belong to me Nicole. I’m not going to let you go. You’ve had your little fun, but now it’s time to come home.”

Nicole tried to push herself off the door and past Shae. She was almost out of arm's reach when she felt Shae ball her fingers in her hair, pulling her backwards and off her feet. As she crashed to the ground, she looked up to see Shae looming over her. 

“You’re cute. But do I really have to remind you what happens when you don’t listen. All you have to do is listen to me. Now, get up.”

Nicole could feel the bile pushing up in the back of her throat. She tried to pull herself up, but was knocked back down by a swift kick to her ribs. She rolled away from Shae, trying again to push herself to her feet. This time, the kick connected with the side of her head. As she spit out a mouthful of blood, the anger that she had been holding onto began to surface.

“Fuck you Shae. I don’t need you anymore.” The laugh that bubbled up from Shae’s throat sent ice through Nicole’s veins. 

“You will always need me. Do you really think that pretty little brunette from the cafe is interested in you?” Another kick to the ribs. 

“You are such an idiot. No one will ever want to be with you. Look at how pathetic you are.” Shae tried to kick her again, but Nicole rolled onto her back out of the way. This only caused Shae to become even more angry, bringing her foot down onto Nicole’s stomach. She curled in on herself and wasn’t expecting the second kick to the side of her head. 

It must have knocked her out, because the next thing she knew, she was laying flat on her stomach with her hands bound behind her back. The first thing she noticed was the cold metal biting into her wrist. Her cuffs. Shae had found her cuffs. She should have left her utility belt in the car. Guess she should be glad her service revolver wasn’t pressed against her head. The second thing she noticed was the cold wood below her. She realized that Shae had stripped her down to her underwear before cuffing her. She wondered where Shae was. That question was soon answered when she heard footsteps coming her way. She turned her head in time to see the woman coming out of the kitchen, the light shimmering off the knife in her hands. Panic set in and Nicole began to squirm. She wasn’t afraid of Shae killing her. No, that would be too easy. She knew what was coming was far worse. Her hips were ground into the hardwood below her when Shae knelt down on her back, halting Nicole’s squirming. She leaned in closer, tracing the edge of the knife along the scars on Nicole’s ribs. 

“If you won’t listen to me and agree that you belong to me, I guess I’ll just have to show you. Everyone will know who you belong to.” Nicole’s eyes went wide. Shae had made more than one comment over the years about branding Nicole as hers, but she didn’t think she would ever do it. 

Nicole felt the burning bite of Shae pressing the knife into her skin. Nicole wanted to be strong, but she couldn’t help the tears running down her face. As the knife bit deeper into her skin, she let out a loud scream which echoed off the walls of the empty apartment. 

Time seemed to slow and Nicole’s vision was getting fuzzy, her body trying to shut down to avoid the pain. Her scream had faded into a quiet sob. As her consciousness began to slip away, the last thing she remembered was her apartment door banging open and the weight on her back suddenly lifting. After that, she slipped into the darkness.

When Nicole woke up, the first thing she noticed was the sickly clean smell of a hospital. When she opened her eyes, she looked around, noticing a jacket thrown over a chair in the corner and a variety of flowers along the windowsill. She could hear talking out in the hallway, and tried her best to sit up. When she did, she felt a sharp pain run through her ribs. She reached down to feel the bandages wrapped around her torso, rising up and running over her right shoulder. The memories began flooding back and Nicole started to shake. 

Shae had broken in. She had said that she was coming back with her. She had tried to carve her name into her back. Then why was she in the hospital? Shae was a doctor and always refused to let Nicole go to the hospital unless it was absolutely necessary. The few times she had been allowed to seek medical treatment, Shae had insisted that she visit a hospital a county over and tell them that she had fallen while rock climbing. Or biking. Or just going down the stairs. She wondered what she had told them this time. 

She heard the voices outside her doorway get louder. She turned in time to see the door open, being held by a deputy she had met the day before, and Wynonna and Waverly pushing their way into the room. Apparently the loud voices had been Wynnona arguing to be allowed into the room. She had obviously won. 

Waverly was the first one to notice Nicole watching them quietly from the bed. Even from across the room, Nicole could see the tears welling up in her eyes. Before she could think of a single thing to say, Waverly had launched herself across the room and crawled into the bed beside Nicole. When she brushed her ribs, Nicole hissed in pain.

“Easy baby. I’m still sore.”

Waverly readjusted to avoid Nicole’s ribs and gently kissed the side of her head. It wasn’t until then that Nicole noticed one of her eyes partially swelled shut. She nuzzled into Waverly and let the tears fall. She was stupid. Waverly shouldn’t be here. What if Shae came back?

This thought caused Nicole to sit up, looking around for any sign that the woman had been there. The pain was just an afterthought to the panic. Waverly and Wynonna seemed to understand instantly. 

“She’s gone baby, it's okay.” Nicole relaxed just a little as she felt Waverly get closer to her. 

“But, I don’t understand. What happened? I remember being pinned down by her and the next minute, I’m here.” This time it was Wynonna who answered.

“When you didn’t come back, Babygirl started to worry you might have changed your mind. Wanted to come see what was going on. We...we heard your screaming from down the hall. Good thing you left your door unlocked.” Nicole tried to return Wynonna’s forced smile, but the memories were slowly coming back and she was shaking again. Waverly kissed her temple and picked up where Wynonna had left off.

“When we came in, I saw her on top of you. I saw what she was doing. She didn’t even seem to flinch when Wynonna pulled her gun. A roundhouse kick to the jaw seemed to do the trick though. Baby, I’m so sorry you had to experience that.” Nicole realized that the small brunette curled up beside her was crying softly and Nicole wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her against her. She didn’t care how much pain it caused her. Waverly needed this as much as she did.

“You’re one tough bitch Haught. You can be on my team any day.” Nicole winked at her, and stood up. “I guess I should probably go update everyone.”

As Wynonna walked out of the room, Nicole asked no one in particular “Everyone?”

This seemed to garner a chuckle from Waverly. “Yes ma’am, everyone. Once Shae was knocked out, we got the handcuffs off you and put them on her. I wasn’t going to leave you and Wynonna wasn’t too keen on the idea either. So she called in backup. Doc got there first, then Nedley. The two of them made sure that she was thrown into the deepest hole Purgatory Sheriff's department had. I don’t think either of them would normally hit a lady, but they both looked like they might come to blows over who got to do the interrogation.” 

Nicole chuckled and held her ribs. She knew from experience that she would be sore for a long time. She also knew that Shae had friends in high places. She would probably be out and on the way back to her penthouse apartment by sunset.

“She will find a way to get out of this. She always does. She gets whatever she wants.” The last words were almost whispered. She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed someone else stepping into the room until they spoke.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” She looked up to see Nedley standing in the doorway, holding his hat in his hands. Nicole swallowed back the tears and asked him how he could be so sure.

“Well, I did a little digging. Turns out her friends in high places might not be in those places any longer. Also, seeing as I put your paperwork through after you left the other day, she assaulted an officer. One of my officers. I promise Nicole, we’re gonna bury her. The DA is already building a case. No rush on your statement. Just whenever you’re up to it.” 

The look of determination and concern plastered across Nedley’s face was unmistakable. Nicole was having an even harder time not crying. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she settled on a simple “thank you, sir”. Nedley just nodded and made his exit, satisfied that Nicole was going to be okay. 

The look of overwhelming relief flooded over her and this time, she let it all out. Waverly let her cry into her chest until her sobs had subsided to hiccups. She couldn’t believe that this might actually be over. She was sure that any judge in the country would be happy to grant her a divorce after this. She still had unanswered questions, though.

“I just wanna know how she found me. And how the hell she got into my apartment.” Nicole was talking to no one in particular, but she heard Waverly answer. 

“Doc is working on that now. He’s good at….sniffing this kind of thing out. By any means necessary.” Nicole didn’t have to be a cop to know what Waverly meant. 

So many things were still unsaid and a part of Nicole was breaking at what Waverly witnessed. She didn’t even begin to know how to apologize. Waverly didn’t deserve this. She could simply walk away.

“Waverly, I can’t thank you enough. You and Wynonna. Everyone. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you guys. I never wanted to pull you into any of this. I wanted you to know me as the person I’ve become, not the person I was when I was with her. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. I understand if you want to call it quits and just….” Nicole was cut off as Waverly pressed her lips gently to hers. Her head was spinning. She couldn’t breath, but in the most delicious way possible. 

She reached up and ran her fingers through the long brown hair falling slowly down Waverly’s face and tucked it behind her ear. She could feel her heart beating in her chest and she wanted so badly to pull Waverly closer. To be skin to skin. But she knew that would have to wait. For now, she was just happy to continue kissing the beautiful brunette. She almost whimpered when Waverly pulled away.

“Nicole, I know you aren’t that person. And I’m not going anywhere. I’m here until you are finished with me.”

“That will never happen.” Nicole smiled and connected her lips with Waverly’s again. They both jumped at a voice coming from the doorway. 

“You two are so sweet I’m gonna puke.”

They both laughed as Wynonna flopped down in the chair beside the bed and kicked her feet up. Nicole gently kicked her boot and Wynonna smiled. 

“Thank you Wynonna. Seriously. You might have saved my life.”

Wynonna gently kicked Nicole back.

“Don’t mention it Haught. You just take care of my Baby Girl.” Nicole could almost feel Waverly roll her eyes. 

“I think I can do that.” After that, the three of them fell into light conversation, avoiding bringing up the night before. 

Nicole found out that she had been out for a while. It would be a couple days before she could go home, but the sisters promised to keep her company. Waverly was able to get a couple days off work and spent most of her time at the hospital with her. She wasn’t surprised to find out that she had a broken rib, or that she had an occipital fracture. She was however surprised and relieved to find out that Shae had only been able to make a couple cuts in her back before the Earps had arrived. 

After a couple days, Nicole was finally getting discharged. She was so ready to get back home. To finally be able to shower off the smell of hospital and sleep through the night without being woken for vitals. She had tried to insist that she could walk herself to the car, but after much insisting from Waverly and the nurse, she was being wheeled out in a wheelchair. At least she was in her own clothes. Waverly had picked them up from her. Wynonna had agreed to pull her truck around so that Waverly could stay with Nicole. 

She hadn’t really expected a parade when Wynonna pulled around, but the look of anger and utter disgust on her face shocked Nicole. As she climbed into the truck, she could stop herself from asking. 

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Its…” Wynonna began.

“Wynonna, don’t.” Waverly cut her off. 

Nicole looked between the two of them, and finally settled on Wynonna.

“Just tell me Wynonna.”

She could feel Waverly glaring past her at Wynonna. The older Earp sighed and finally settled her gaze on Nicole. 

“That piece of shit, hopefully soon-to-be ex-wife has decided that she isn’t talking.”  
Apparently Nicole did not hide the flash of fear that flew across her face, because Wynonna continued. “Not that she fucking has too. She’s going down either way. But they still want to get a statement, just to be sure. Her lawyer finally showed up and she’s clammed up…..unless…..unless she gets to speak with you first.” 

The air in the truck seemed to be 100 degrees hotter. But Nicole wanted this to be over. She knew that she was going to have to face her eventually if this went to court. And she had questions. 

“I’ll do it. Waverly if you want to go home, you can. But I have to do this. I want this to be over.”

A part of her expected Waverly to be mad. But she was surprised when she felt Waverly intertwined their fingers and lay her head on her shoulder.

“Where you go, I go.”

At that, Wynonna took the next right and headed towards the station.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole confronts Shae about the attack

The ride to the station was silent, Nicole holding onto Waverly’s hand and the smaller woman clinging to her side protectively. Nicole hadn’t missed the fact that Wynonna kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye. It caused Nicole to sit up a little straighter. 

They pulled up outside the station and parked in a spot close to the front. They all slid out of the truck, and Nicole noticed the rain clouds starting to form overhead. Maybe she should take this as a sign and turn around. She could still go back home and not have to deal with this right now. Nedley said they were going to bury her. Nicole leaned back against the door, running her fingers through her hair. She could do this. She had to. 

Wynonna and Waverly had both stopped walking and were watching her curiously from the other side of the truck. 

“I’m coming guys, I just needed to take a breath.”

Waverly made her way back around the truck and gently wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist. There was something so comforting about having their bodies pressed together, like this is exactly where she was meant to be. She buried her face in Waverly’s hair and inhaled the sweet scent of the beautiful angel in her arms. 

After a couple minutes, Waverly pulled back and smiled up at her.

“You know you don’t have to do this. It's only been a few days. They already have your statement.” 

“I know. But I want this to be over as quickly as possible. And if seeing me will make her admit what she did, then I have to do it. She won’t stop Waverly. And I can’t have you in the line of fire. Come on, let's do this.” She kissed Waverly’s forehead and took her hand, heading around the truck to head through the door Wynonna was now leaning beside. 

Nicole pulled open the door and stepped inside, trying to tell herself that it would all be okay. SHe hated feeling like this. She knew that Shae couldn’t get to her, least while here, but she was still fighting the urge to run. She turned down a hallway that led to the interrogation rooms, flanked on either side by an Earp sister. They finally came to an open door on the left. Inside it stood Nedley, glaring at the glass of the two-way mirror like he thought that he could pierce through it. She knew who would be on the other side of the glass. She walked up beside Nedley, refusing to even glace through the glass into the room. 

“Okay Sheriff, how are we going to do this?” Nicole sounded a whole lot calmer than she felt. 

“Frankly, Haught, I don’t think we should be. You shouldn’t have to face that monster. We already have your statement. If she doesn’t want to cooperate, that's on her. I just wish….” His voice trailed off, but she could see the anger burning in his eyes. She knew he meant well. And that he would bury this woman the first chance he got. Her heart swelled with affection for her boss. 

SHe finally turned towards the glass and her blood ran cold. There sat Shae, facing the glass, staring straight into Nicole. She knew that there was no way that Shae could actually see her, but she couldn’t help but want to curl into herself. She could feel her body start to shrink in on itself and was surprised to feel a hand take hers, then another on her shoulder. She knew that both sisters were trying to show their silent support. She had to do this. For them, if nothing else. If she was going to be in their lives, Shae had to be completely out of hers. After a couple deep breaths, she nodded and headed out the door. 

Once she reached the door to the interrogation room, she reached for the handle before looking back towards the still open door to the room she just left. Wavery, Wynonna, and Nedley were all watching her. She could do this. With that, she pushed open the door. 

Shae didn’t seem to even notice that Nicole had entered the room. She sat calmly at the table, staring at the glass. Nicole glanced up to make sure that the security camera was on in the corner, then made her way to the table to sit across from Shae. 

“I wondered how long it would take you to come see me baby.” Shae grinned at her like the cat who caught the canary. Nicole stared at the table.

“Don’t call me that.” Nicole finally looked up to meet her eyes. “I was told that you wanted to talk to me, Shae. So start talking.”

“Oh, look who thinks she’s big now. Tell me, is that cute little brunette on the other side of the glass. I bet she is. Have you told who you actually belong to?” Shae waved towards the glass and Nicole would feel her patience already getting thin. 

“Leave her out of this. You wanted to speak with me, so start talking or I will…”

“You’ll what Nicole? Walk out? Do you really think I won’t find you again?” Her words bit into Nicole, but she knew this might be her in. She just needed Shae to start talking. 

“How exactly did you find me?” 

“Oh, you know I have my ways. You’re mine, after all.”

“No, I’m not. And I never will be again. We are done Shae. The divorce will be finalized whether you like it or not.” 

“We will see about that. I know you miss me. The way I used to touch you. The way that no one else will ever be able to. And oh how you liked that pain. Once upon a time you used to love it. You loved the punishment. Is that why my baby is acting out?” She leaned closer across the table. 

“I told you to stop calling me that. I’m not your baby. And this is obviously going nowhere.” She stood up and turned towards the door. This earned her the first true reaction from Shae.

“Don’t you dare walk out on me when I’m speaking to you!” Nicole froze in her tracks, falling back into old habits. She turned slowly, seeing the anger in Shae burning just below the surface. Instead of sitting back down, she leaned against the wall, putting distance between them. 

“How did you get into my apartment Shae?” The other women just stared at her. She knew she would have to change tactics. 

“I must have left the door unlocked by accident. That’s the only logical explanation. And you were pathetic enough to just wait on me to come home. That’s quite a change of pace.”

“You think I’m not smart enough to pick a simple lock!? You had this coming Nicole. You are nothing without me. Running away from me and thinking that you could just start over. You are worthless Nicole. Nothing without me. You think you’re something now that you have a couple people to back you up? You were lucky that bitch showed up or else I would have done far worse. You have misbehaved for the last time. Eventually I will get out. And we will finish what we started. You will take your punishment like a good girl. You will never again leave me. Now take your ass in there and drop these stupid charges so we can go home. You’re lucky I’m even willing to take you back. If you don’t, you will pay. And so will your little brunette buddies.” 

Nicole was visibly shaking. She knew that they had enough. The threats, admitting to the breakin and the abuse. She had done it. It was over, at least for now. She had nothing left to say to Shae. She turned and walked towards the door again, this time not stopping when she called out to her. Once the door was closed behind her, she leaned against it and slid to the floor. She couldn’t breathe. She tried resting her head between her knees, but everything seemed to be slowly slipping away. She barely registered that someone was calling her name. She felt a hand touch her arm and she quickly jerked away without looking up. She couldn’t do this right now. She didn’t want to be touched. She mumbled a quick sorry, before getting up and walking quickly down the hallway towards the back door. She didn’t dare look up, afraid of the looks she would receive from the group that she now saw had formed around her. 

She pushed her way through the back door as a clap of thunder seemed to shake the very air around her before the sky broke open. She couldn’t help the tears that were falling as she stood with her back against the bricks, letting the rain wash over her. The physical pain she was in was nothing compared to the mixture of panic and relief she was feeling. She had gotten what she needed. Shae had sealed her own fate. She leaned her head back against the wall. The rain washed over her face and something in her loosened. She was finally starting to be able to breath again. 

She opened the door, stepping inside and immediately hearing the water drip off of her and onto the tile floor. A quick glance around showed that the hallway was clear, except for one lone figure curled up in the spot she had vacated. She knew that Waverly deserved better. She couldn’t keep pushing her away. THe smaller woman must have heard her approaching and looked up at her cautiously. She stuck out her hand and helped Waverly to her feet.

“Wynonna and Nedley are in there now with her and her lawyer. You did really well baby. It’s essentially an open and shut case according to the DA. I’m proud of you for doing this Nicole.” As she finished her sentence, the door beside them opened and Nedley and Wynonna came walking out. Nicole decided that she had one more parting shot for that bitch. With the door still open and in full view of Shae, she wrapped Waverly in her arms, lifted her off her feet, and kissed her with everything she had. 

She could hear the incoherent screech of anger coming from the room behind her, but she didn’t care. Luckily, Wynonna reached around to pull the door closed. By this point, the two had broken apart, but Nicole still held Waverly in her arms. Wynonna was the first to actually speak.

“I would ask if you were okay after that Haught, but after the way you just tried to eat my sister’s face, I’d say so.” Nicole smiled at her, blushing slightly. “Come on you two. Let’s go home. You could both use a change of clothes now.” Neither of them seemed to have noticed that Nicole had soaked Waverly’s clothes when she picked her up. 

As they made their way through the station to the truck, Waverly never let go of her hand. She squeezed it lightly, feeling more grounded with her angel beside her. Once inside the truck Waverly laid her head on her shoulder and Nicole was finally calm and content. 

That is until Waverly pressed hot lips to her ear and whispered “I have a surprise for you when you get home.” 

Nicole wished that Wynonna would drive faster. They were at the apartment soon enough though. Once they reached their floor, the group slit, Wynonna not even questioning when they did not follow her into her apartment. SHe just waved as Nicole unlocked her door and they slipped in. Once the door was shut, Waverly quickly kissed her cheek and pointed towards the bedroom. 

“Go change, then your surprise.” 

Nicole wasn’t sure what the surprise could possibly be, but she knew that she wanted it as quickly as possible. And she wasn’t going to keep the beautiful woman waiting.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole is in for more than one surprise now that she is back home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am so sorry its been so long since the last update. There has just been a lot going on in my world. But I promise I'm back and already working on the next chapter. And thank you everyone for your comments. Keep watch for future update including some of your suggestions/comments. Enjoy.

She quickly shed her wet clothing on her bathroom floor and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt. She knew that her bandages would need to be changed now that she had gotten them wet, but that was the last thing she was concerned with. She just wanted to get back to Waverly as soon as possible. She was already moving slower than she would like with her injuries. She checked herself over in the mirror, noticing that her hair had started to dry and was now sticking out at odd angles in the few places where it wasn't plastered to her head. She grabbed a towel and did her best to dry her hair. She winced at the pain from her ribcage and decided that it might be better to just run a comb through it. After a few quick swipes through her hair, she was semi-satisfied with her reflection. Her eye was still swollen and a gross purple-green. But there was nothing that she could do about that. She sighed and headed back out to Waverly. 

She expected the shorter woman to be waiting on her when she walked back into the living room, but was instead met with the silence of an empty apartment. She noticed that there was a bag sitting by her front door, but no Waverly. Still, she was curious. She only made it halfway to the door, though, before she stopped. She stood staring at the spot that she had been pinned by Shae. She knew that Waverly and Wynonna had assured her that they had scrubbed the place clean while she was in the hospital, but she still felt like she could see specks of blood dried in the cracks in the floor. She took a deep breath and absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair. A shiver ran through her body and she almost jumped out of her skin as her front door opened. Waverly didn’t seem to notice as she pushed the door open wider, carrying a box in front of her. Nicole noticed that something inside the bag that now sat at Waverly’s feet had jingled when she had accidentally nudged it coming in the door. 

“So, I really hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries, and I’m just now realizing that I should have probably asked about potential allergies but…” While she spoke, she had closed the distance between them and let her sentence trail off as she opened the lid of the box. Inside sat the smallest bundle of orange fur that she had ever seen. She was at a loss for words. Before she could process, Waverly was already speaking again, clearly afraid that she might have made a mistake. 

“She turned up outside of Shorty’s yesterday. She was so little and seemed so scared. I know you are in this apartment all alone and, yes I would very much like to be here every minute of the day, but I thought you could use a little company. I bought all the stuff that you are gonna need for her” as she said this, she absently nudjed the bag at her feet. “It's okay if you don’t like cats. Nonna said that I should have gotten you a goldfish. Or a guard dog. But I figured you’ve both had a rough few days and you’d be good for each other.” 

Nicole watched Waverly ramble and tried to hide the smile that was threatening to break open on her face. A million thoughts ran through her mind. Waverly had gotten her a cat. Her girlfriend had gotten her a cat. Wait, was Waverly her girlfriend? They hadn’t exactly discussed it. Would it be weird to have that conversation while she was still technically married? Would that make Waverly feel like some sort of mistress? She resolved to deal with that later, seeing as the beautiful brunette in front of her had stopped talking and was now staring at her expectantly. 

“First of all, no one has ever gotten me a pet before. But I do like cats. She is so little” the fuzzball seemed to stir at this and Nicole reached into the box and picked her up, holding her to her chest. The initial cry from the smaller of the now 2 gingers faded quickly before she nuzzled into Nicole and purred, presumably attempting to get back to her nap. 

“Aww. See she already likes you. And I promise I’m not just going to give you a cat and then not help with her. Anything you need and I’m here. I’ve already spoken to the local vet and told her that this little girl is gonna be yours, but she does have my number on file just in case. All you have to do is take her down to see them and they will get her set up so she can be wormed and get all of her shots and things like that. They asked for a name, but I told them she didn’t have one yet and that you might need some time to decide…..”

“Calamity Jane.” 

“What?”

“That’s what I’m gonna call her.” Nicole beamed down at Waverly and adjusted the kitten around so that she held her slightly to the side in the crook of her arm. The kitten didn’t even seem to notice. With her free hand, she reached out and pulled Waverly to her and kissed her softly. She broke the kiss just long enough to whisper out a quick “thank you” before connecting their lips again. They stayed like this for several moments, Calamity contently purring in the crook of Nicole’s arm. 

When they finally broke apart, Waverly excitedly picked up the bag and made her way to the counter to start unpacking it. She really had thought of everything; food and water bowls, treats, toys, a selection of collars to choose from, a small bag of kitten food, even a couple books on training and overall new cat ownership. Waverly seemed to be incredibly proud of herself as she stepped back to let Nicole admire the spread before her. 

Nicole slid her arm around Waverly’s waist and pulled her closer to her uninjured side, kissing the top of her head. “You did very well baby. She’s definitely going to be spoiled.” Suddenly a thought struck Nicole. “I’m definitely going to have to figure out how to keep her off of the air mattress though.”

“Yeah….about that....” Waverly glanced at the time on her phone as she drug out her sentence. They both jumped when there was a knock on the door. An excited squeal escaped Waverly’s throat as she turned to the door. Before she could even take a step, the door was thrown open, revealing Wynonna standing there with her hand over her eyes. 

“Haught Mess, you better not be fucking my little sister in here. At least not where I can see it when I uncover my eyes.” At that, she dropped her hand and looked relieved to see them both standing before her fully clothed. 

“Not until the injuries heal a little.” Nicole couldn’t hide the smirk on her face. Or miss the look of slight disappointment that seemed to flash across Waverly’s face before she picked up a cat toy and flung it towards her sister. Wynonna easily swatted it away and stepped further into the apartment. It was then that Nicole noticed that the older Earp was not the only one waiting in the hallway. Doc pushed himself off the wall across the hall from her doorway and tipped his hat at her as he stepped into the apartment as well. Nicole also noticed that he seemed to be carrying a tool box.

“So, we thought with your injuries and everything, it wouldn’t be right for you to keep sleeping on that air mattress. So, we may have brought you something else.” While Waverly had been talking, Doc had sat the tool box down by the door and was dragging something in from the hallway. Nicole realized it was the headboard to a bed.

“No, you guys, you didn’t have to do this. I’m fine on the air mattress, really. You didn’t have to go out and get me a bed.” 

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself. This is actually one that we had in storage back at the homestead. For all we know, it's infested with roaches and fleas.” Wynonna’s voice may have carried a semi-serious tone, but Nicole could tell that she was fighting a smile. The wink at the end of the statement didn’t help. 

Without thinking, Nicole started to pull in on herself. If she had learned anything from Shae it was that people aren’t just nice to you for no reason. There is always something that they want. 

“How much?”

This time it was Waverly who answered her, speaking in a low whisper so as not to be heard by Wynonna, who was now helping Doc bring the rest of the bedframe in. 

“Nicole, there is no cost. We care about you. We want you to get better. The kitten was my idea but this” she gestured to the mattress that had just been propped unceremoniously against the couch, “this was all Wynonna.” 

It was all a little too much for Nicole and she felt something ball up in the pit of her stomach. Before she knew it, hot tears were slowly sliding down her face. She knew it was useless to try and stop them. It had been an emotional few days and to now have people who, let's face it, she had only known for a few days, being so nice to her….she didn’t even know what to say. So she said the only thing she could as Wynonna and Doc finally brought the last piece into the apartment and closed the door. 

“Thank you.”

Wynonna smiled at her genuinely this time and shook her head.

“No problem Haught. Now, down to business. You.” She pointed a finger at Waverly. “You are in charge of the gingers. Why don’t you guys find something to watch on tv while Doc and I put this together.” She turned to walk away, but pivoted back towards them. “Oh and be thinking of what kind of takeout you guys want. I’m gonna need to veg after this. Haught, you’re buying.” As she turned to walk away, Waverly rolled her eyes and whispered “no you’re not” before pointing Nicole towards the couch before heading for her bathroom.

As she sat down, Nicole realized that she hadn’t put the cat down since Waverly gave her to her. She slid easily onto her couch and sat the kitten beside her. She received a loud meow of displeasure from the kitten, but after walking around on the couch for a few minutes, she eventually settled down. By then, Waverly had returned with an arm full of bandages and gauze. Nicole opened her mouth to protest, but closed it quickly at the look on her face. 

“We both know they need to be changed. Doc and Wynonna are busy in the bedroom with the bed. You don’t even have to take your shirt completely off. Just pull it over your head a little.” When Nicole tried to do just that, she winced and Waverly quickly helped her get the shirt up enough for the bandages to be changed. Nicole noticed how gently Waverly was everytime she touched her. Like she was almost afraid even the slightest touch might make it worse. It didn’t help that Shae had broken a rib on the same side as her scars. She felt Waverly’s finger gently trace down an inch or so of scar tissue before pulling back again to continue redressing her shoulder. 

Nicole felt tears welling up in her eyes, knowing how close she had come to being branded by that stupid bitch for the rest of her life. She would never be Shae’s again. That thought, combined with the sweet smell of the woman beside her was enough for the tension to ease from her body.

Soon, the bandages were changed and Waverly had disposed of the old ones before returning to the couch. They decided on a movie and Nicole felt her body relax even more as Waverly curled herself into what she was now referring to in her head as her “good” side. 

Nicole knew that she didn’t deserve all the kindness she had received from these people in the last few days, but she didn’t have the energy to fight it today. Today she would just be content in knowing that, for now, her life was finally starting to look better. She was finally remembering what happiness felt like. She would poke at it some other time.


	15. Chapter 15

It seemed like Doc and Wynonna were able to get the bed put together in record time, even though it had been made clear by the loud voice from the bedroom that Wynonna had mainly supervised. Soon, the older Earp was walking into the living room carrying the deflated air mattress.

“What do you want me to do with this?” 

“Um….honestly, you can just throw it in there.” She pointed towards the spare bedroom.

As Wynonna threw the door open and tossed the air mattress unceremoniously towards the center of the room, Doc joined the other two women in the living room. Nicole turned and smiled honestly up at him.

“Thank you Doc. I do really appreciate it.”

Doc just tipped his hat at her again and smiled that smile that she was starting to realize was part mirth, part devilish, and uniquely Doc. 

“No thanks needed Ms. Haught. I am glad to be of service. I did happen to notice a beautiful Stetson sitting on your desk. A hat such as that is meant to be worn. Letting it collect dust is like boarding up a wild pony. If I am not overstepping my bounds, might I ask why you do not wear it?” 

Nicole shuffled a little uncomfortably, but she felt Waverly perk up beside her. She knew Waverly had already asked this question, but she knew Doc deserved an answer. Wynnona had flopped down on the couch beside Waverly and was looking at her expectantly. She might as well answer.

“I used to wear it. Before Shae. She didn't liked it and didn’t like to be reminded of my….uncultured...upbringing.” 

“We can’t all be as cultured as Miss Smart Pants over here.” She gently nudged Waverly. Waverly responded by kicking Wynonna playfully.

“What do you mean ‘uncultured’? You don’t exactly seem like some backwoods hick to me.” Waverly had turned to face Nicole again. That’s when Nicole realized that Waverly knew next to nothing about her life prior to Shae. Or her life with Shae for that matter. She smiled at the comment.

“Maybe not backwoods, but I definitely grew up in the middle of nowhere. My parents were hippies and I just didn’t seem to fit in with their vibe. I spent a lot of time outside watching our neighbors horses and I always wanted to ride them. One day, I finally asked. He agreed on the condition that I help him out with them. That was my first real “summer job”. What I didn’t know was that he didn’t just keep horses for rodeoing or trail riding like most people around there did. After I turned 16, he agreed to let me move up from grooming them and mucking out stalls. That’s when I broke my first horse and bought myself that hat to celebrate. Turns out, after a little bit of help in the beginning, I was actually pretty good at it. I’m surprised that I only walked away with a broken arm after that summer. The police academy was a breeze after that. I was convinced that there wasn’t a pony I couldn’t break.” Nicole was beaming thinking back to the memories. Her eyes connected with Waverly’s and she saw something stirring there before the younger Earp bounced off the couch.

“Breaking a pony, especially a stubborn one, is no easy task. It takes a strength of character that I myself do not possess. But you Miss Haught, I’m sure you had all the pony’s bowing to your will within an hour or so.” Doc was beaming down at her. She wasn’t sure exactly what the look was on his face but a part of her was pretty sure the man’s respect level for her had just jumped up a few notches. 

“Please Doc, call me Nicole.” 

“ I shall try my best.”

By this point, Waverly had come prancing back into the living room carrying the very hat that had started this conversation. She ran her fingers slowly along the brim of the hat before placing it on Nicole’s head. She felt a blush start creeping up as she reached up to adjust it to sit properly on her head. 

“Well, I like it.” Nicole watched as something danced behind Waverly’s eyes that she was almost positive was lust. She made a note that she may need to start wearing it everyday like she used to all those years ago. 

“Yeah yeah yeah, you’re hot shit. You look almost as good in yours as Doc does in his.” Nicole didn’t miss the look that Wynonna shot Doc from the end of the couch. “Now that we have settled that, did you two decide what we are getting to eat?”

Of course, she had been too busy getting lost in the feel of Waverly at her side to have given much thought to food. As if on queue, her stomach growled. She tried to cover it as best as she could. 

“What would you suggest? I haven’t really tried most places around her.”

Wynonna hopped up off the couch, phone already in her hand. “I know the perfect place. Haught, it should actually be right up your alley.” 

“Wynonna, please, not Allan’s…” she was immediately cut off by Wynonna holding up her phone showing an active call.

“Already calling. I already know what you two want,” she gestured to Waverly and Doc. “What about you Haught? You down for some barbecue?”

Nicole’s mouth immediately watered. She had not had good barbecue in years. Shae had hated it and it was just easier for Nicole to avoid it. She mulled over in her head all the options she might have before turning to Wynonna. 

“Sweet or vinegar sauce?”

“Your choice.”

“Pulled pork on the table?”

“Sure as hell is. You like ribs?”

“Sure as hell do.”

“Coleslaw?”  
“Gross.”

“That’s my girl Haught.” Wynonna nodded approvingly and turned back to the phone, walking towards the kitchen with Doc hot on her heels. 

“You don’t like barbecue?” Nicole looked confusedly at Waverly. How could someone not like barbecue?

Waverly giggled at the look she was getting from Nicole, which only served to confuse her more.

“It’s not that I don’t like barbecue. It's that they didn’t have any vegan options until a few months ago. Once Wynonna figured out that I could actually get something from there, we ate it every night for a week straight. But it’s honestly delicious. Doc seems to be a fan too.”

“Wait….how did I not know you were a vegan!? The pancakes...not that its a problem, but if I had known I would have….I’m sorry I don’t really keep a lot of vegan stuff around here, but I can go shopping…” Nicole cut her rambling short, resolving to look up a few vegan versions of some of the stuff that she loved to cook and head to the grocery store at the first opportunity. Maybe she could get Waverly to tag along. She was so lost in her hurried thoughts of doing something so simple and domestic with the beautiful brunette in front of her that she almost missed Waverly’s response.

“I just don’t think it's ever come up. That’s partially on me. The pancakes were vegan. I didn’t even think to ask if it mattered. Wynonna can never tell the difference.” The last statement drew a response from the kitchen.

“I can too tell the difference when you make your stupid rabbit food pancakes. I’d just rather eat them than make my own.” She punctuated this by sticking her tongue out, a gesture Waverly quickly returned. Seeing the two sisters like this made something stir in her chest. She had been an only child and it was a lonely experience growing up. Maybe if she had had a sibling, she would have at least had someone to talk to when things got really bad at home. 

“Food should be here in just a bit. They usually have it ready within 15 min or so.” Wynonna said this to no one in particular as her and Doc headed back towards the living room.

“My wallet should still be sitting on my bathroom sink, there should be enough cash to cover….” Wynonna had turned to head in that direction when Waverly called her name, cutting Nicole off.

“I was just kidding Waves, calm down. They already have my card information on file. I was just messing with Haughty.”

She came back around the end of the couch and went to slide back down on it, noticing Calamity just in time to scoop her up and place her safely in Waverly’s lap.

“So, what do you guys say to some cards?”

“Oh, I do love a good game of poker.” Doc was grinning like a kid in a candy store and Nicole really hated to burst his bubble but….

“I don’t know how to play poker.”

The look of shock on the faces of the three people before her was enough to make her want to take the statement back. 

“We will teach you if you want. Doc and Wynonna are a lot better at it than me, but we can play partners and go through a few practice hands first if you would like.” Nicole just nodded. She didn’t care if she lost every hand. Seeing the way that Waverly was beaming at her was enough.

Wynonna was again off the couch, this time headed for the door, yelling back over her shoulder “I’ll go get the cards.” She was again stopped in her tracks by a stern sounding Waverly. “Don’t you dare get that stacked deck Wynonna Earp. Get mine.”

Wynonna’s groan echoes back to them, even though she hadn’t turned around, choosing to stand with her hand on the doorknob.

“I don’t want to play with your stupid unicorn deck!”

“It doesn’t matter what's on the back of them Wynonna. It is a standard deck. Unless you are afraid of losing without your deck.” The teasing in Waverly’s voice was evident and Doc spoke up between laughs.

“She does have a point darlin’. It matters not how the cards are decorated, only how you play them.”

Wynonna groaned again before flipping off the room collectively and walking out the door. She returned before long and threw the deck at the back of Waverly’s head. Without thinking Nicole reached out, snatching the box of cards out of the air just before it connected with its target.

“So you’re one of those lesbians, huh Haught?”

“I miiiight have dabbled in a little softball in highschool, what of it Earp?” Nicole raised an eyebrow as she stared down Wynonna. 

“Figures.” Was all Wynonna said before pointing at Doc.

“Come get the card table will ya.”

Doc followed her back out of the apartment, still trying to control the barely audible laughter from spilling out. 

Once they were alone again in the apartment, Waverly turned so that she was sitting facing Nicole. Before she had time to react, Waverly was pushing herself up to connect their lips in a brief kiss. Nicole’s whole body felt like it was on fire and she was regretting her previous statement about waiting for her body to heal a little. But both women knew that they didn’t have time for anything they were thinking, so Waverly settled back onto the couch. Nicole reached out to tuck a few stray hairs behind the brunette’s ear before ghosting her fingertips down her jaw. Waverly leaned into Nicole’s hand, kissing her palm to hide her blush before looking up at her. 

“So Officer Haught, not only are you super sexy in that uniform of yours,” Waverly bit her lip at this and Nicole knew that she would definitely have to try the hat with the uniform, “but you also broke horses and played softball. You really are a superwoman.” 

Nicole felt her face splitting open in a grin and it was her turn to try to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks. 

“You know, most people would just say super gay.”

“That too.”

This caused them both to break out in giggles as the door opened, Wynonna not even bothering to knock. Doc followed with a card table in one hand and a couple chairs in the other. He leaned all of it against the wall just inside the apartment before reaching back out the door and retrieving 2 more chairs. Once the door was closed, he and Wynonna began setting up the table in the open space between kitchen and living room. Once it was set up, Nicole and Waverly joined them at the table. Just as they all sat down, there was a knock at the door. Nicole knew that there was no way that it could be Shae, but for a split second her stomach had dropped. What if this was all a dream and she was about to have to wake up and go back to her broken reality? What if none of the compassion and comradery that she was feeling was real? She shook her head to clear it as Wynonna opened it to display a guy about their age fidgeting with several bags on the other side of the door. 

“Heya Jeremy, you got the goods?”

“I really wish you wouldn’t ask it like that Wynonna. You make me sound like a drug dealer.” With this, he handed the bags over to Wynonna and waved through the door at the other 3 sitting at the table. They all waved back. Even Nicole. He was awful friendly for a delivery guy. As Wynonna walked the few steps to the kitchen table to sit everything down, he stood in the doorway expectantly. Within a few seconds, she was back at the door.

“Goodnight Jeremy.” With that, she shut the door. 

“Oh, come on Wynonna. No tip. That’s really rude," Jeremy yelled from the other side of the door.

“I owe you a coffee!” She gestured for the others to join her at the table as she started unpacking the bag. Nicole agreed. It was rude. She turned towards the bathroom to go get her wallet. Hopefully he wouldn’t walk off yet. Wynonna seemed to have guessed her intention because she called after her.

“Don’t even think about it Haught.”

“Wynonna, you should tip him.” Nicole was pleased to hear that her and Waverly agreed on this. 

“Listen, I’ll bring him coffee and donuts tomorrow. Tonight, we veg.” 

Waverly just rolled her eyes, but must have noticed the confusion on Nicole’s face. 

“They work together.”

“Wait, I thought you worked at the police station.”

Wynonna finally turned to face them and nodded.

“We do. He is our science nerd. He’s just working doing deliveries because his boyfriend works there. And he doesn’t deserve a tip after the goo incident last week.”

Waverly snickered and mumbled “oh yea, the goo” before joining Wynonna and Doc at the table.

“Yea, the goo. It took 3 showers to get that shit out of my hair.”

Nicole contemplated asking, but eventually just threw her hands up in defeat.

“You know what, I don’t even wanna know.”

After they were all settled around the table, they began to dig into the spread before them. Wynonna had gotten Nicole a pulled pork sandwich drenched in mouthwatering barbecue sauce and a full rack of ribs to share between the 2 of them. Doc had already started tearing into his rack before Nicole could even process the amount of food before her. Waverly seemed to be happy eating on the barbecue sandwich before her. It did resemble Nicole’s sandwich alot, but turned out to be made with shredded mushrooms. Unlike the pancakes she had shared with Waverly, however, they did not all sit in a comfortable silence. Between devouring their food, small talk was exchanged. It was still comfortable, but definitely noisier. 

Soon, they had all eaten all that they could and Nicole was surprised to see that there were still several ribs left over. They cleaned up the table, all moving quite a bit slower due to the amount they had just eaten. Once this was done, they moved to the card table and took their seats again. 

“Alright ladies, first round is just practice. Miss Hau….Nicole” he quickly caught himself and it caused Nicole to smile, “you and I will be playing as partners, at least for the first few rounds.” 

Waverly’s pout was quickly replaced with a smile when Wynonna poked both Nicole and Doc.

“Earps are gonna kick your asses.”

They high-fived over the table. 

Nicole actually picked up the game pretty quickly. Wynonna had brought poker chips when they brought the table and chairs. After the first couple rounds, Wynonna had disappeared back to their apartment, claiming that any good card game needed whiskey. Nicole knew that she shouldn’t be drinking heavily with her injuries, but figured one glass wouldn’t hurt. In fact, she deserved this. She deserved more than one. At least that’s what she told herself when Wynonna poured her another as soon as she finished the first. 

Luckily, Waverly seemed to be nursing her drinks too, and had gotten up to retrieve them each a bottle of water after the second glass was finished off. Doc and Wynonna continued to drink, their taunts and wagers steadily getting louder and higher. When the idea of strip poker was brought up, Nicole knew that was her queue to dip out of the game. She was really starting to get tired. She leaned back in her chair, content to watch the other 3 continue playing. After a couple more hands, though, Doc admitted defeat. Nicole couldn’t be 100% sure, but she was pretty positive he had let Wynonna win. The older brunette threw her hands up in victory, already a little drunk. 

Talk was had of a movie, but Doc seemed to be able to convince Wynonna that they should probably give Nicole some time to rest. They packed up the table and chairs and Doc ran them back for Wynonna while she leaned on the counter, still sipping her whiskey, this time straight from the bottle. Once he returned he looped his arm around her waist and led her to the door. They stopped just long enough for Wynonna to advise Nicole that she would be back for her ribs tomorrow. Waverly just shooed her out the door, closing it behind them. Nicole was still leaned against the bar, watching the tiny brunette. Once the door was shut, she closed the distance between them, placing both of her hands on the sides of Waverly’s face and kissing her like she had wanted to for hours. When she pulled back slightly from the kiss, Nicole was breathless. 

“So, I know you need time to heal, but….I was gonna see if you would like me to stay over tonight. You know, just in case you need anything. Plus, now you have a new bed for us to cuddle in. I was gonna grab my pjs from the apartment, but if you have a tshirt I can borrow, that works too.”

Nicole cocked and eyebrow at her and smiled. Cuddling was definitely not what was on her mind, especially at the thought of Waverly in one of her tshirts. But her body was starting to remind her of the day that she had had. 

“Cuddling would be perfect.”


	16. Chapter 16

It didn’t take long for them to decide on watching a movie on Nicole’s laptop in bed to finish off their night. Nicole was happy that it was still sitting on the charger on her desk. They both made their way to the bedroom and Nicole dug her most comfy tshirt out for Waverly, along with one for herself. As she turned to hand it to the shorter brunette, she saw the Waverly had already stripped off her shirt and was working on pulling off her bra. Nicole immediately turned crimson and turned back around after dropping the shirt on the bed beside her. She knew that she shouldn’t be embarrassed to see Waverly topless (she had definitely seen her in far less clothing), but she still kept her back to the other woman as she shed her own shirt. She was moving slower than she would have liked, but she knew that it would give Waverly a chance to get changed. Before she could get her shirt completely over her head, she felt a warm hand against the small of her back. She shivered involuntarily when she felt Waverly lean into her as she stood on tippy toes to whisper in her ear.

“Such a gentleman.”

“You have no idea darlin’.” She let the drawl that she had spent so many years trying to hide slide into her voice. Waverly just hummed into her ear and she shivered again. It was going to be harder than she thought to keep her hands to herself tonight. 

When Waverly finally pulled away, Nicole shivered again, this time at the loss of heat at her back from the smaller girl. She pulled the tshirt she had selected for herself over her head and quickly slipped out of her sweatpants as she turned to face Waverly.

The younger woman had crossed the room and was looking over the bookshelf that sat on the wall opposite the bed. She watches as Waverly ran her fingers down the spines of a few of the books, ever so often pulling one off the shelf to glance over it before putting it back. She finally turned back to Nicole with a small smile on her face.

“Well, you definitely have less books than I do, but it is quite the collection. Have you read all of them?”

Nicole just nodded and walked over to the bookshelf to join her. She absentmindedly ran her own fingers over some of the more well-worn titles before making eye contact with Waverly again. 

“Some of them are books that I fell in love with as an adult, some are books I read when I was younger and really liked. Most of them I purchased, but some were purchased for me.”

As she said this, her eyes landed on the cracked spine of one of the books. She had fallen in love with the book when she was a kid and had reread so much that the original had started falling apart. This copy...this one Shae bought for her. She felt her heart in her throat and what she realized was rage bubbling up in the pit of her stomach. Before she really had time to think about it, she pulled the book off the shelf and hurled it across the room, ignoring the searing pain in her ribs and shoulder. She wasn’t sure what made her do it other than a need to have anything that reminded her of Shae as far away from her as possible. Her breathing had picked up and she felt the heat rising in her face. She was so fixated on the book that now lay open to some random page that she didn’t realize that Waverly had taken a step towards her. When she felt a hand tentatively land on her bicep, she jerked away like something had seared her skin. Her heart broke a little and the rage subsided ever so slightly when she saw the look of pain on Waverly’s face. She knew that she was just here to help. She took a deep breath and tried to smile at the beautiful woman before her, but she knew that it didn’t reach her eyes. Waverly finally spoke up.

“Why don’t we climb into bed.”

Again, Nicole just nodded. She wasn’t sure that she trusted herself to speak at that moment. She snagged her laptop off the desk and tossed it onto the bed as they crawled into it. She knew that she should try to explain what had just transpired to Waverly, but she wasn’t sure that she could. Instead, she propped herself up against the headboard and held her arm up so that Waverly could slide under it. After scrolling through Netflix for a few minutes, they finally picked a movie and Nicole slid down in the bed just enough so that Waverly was able to wrap herself around her. 

Before long, she felt her eyelids begin to get heavy. She fought back sleep, but it soon overtook her. The last thing she remembered before she slipped under was the feel of Waverly against her side and the sweet smell of the perfume that still clung to her skin.

…………………...

The next few days all seemed to run together for Nicole. Waverly had spent most of her time at Nicole’s apartment. When she did have to go into work, she would always make sure to call and check on her every chance she got. Nicole had filled her days as best as she could, but she had mostly spent them cuddling with Calamity Jane and catching up on Netflix shows that she had been meaning to watch. Wynonna had come over every night, most of the time accompanied by Doc. Some nights they just ordered food and vegged. Some nights were filled with whiskey shots and loud card games. Nicole was almost afraid to admit to herself that she was getting used to having the sisters around. She wasn’t sure if it was Waverly not wanting to overstay her welcome, or if it was the memory of Nicole losing her temper on a book, but the younger Earp had elected to sleep in her own apartment every night since the first one. 

Her new bed seemed to be way too big and way too cold without Waverly beside her. She didn’t want to tell Waverly about the nightmares that seemed to still be plaguing her. The last peaceful night of sleep she had gotten was with Waverly. She had taken to napping in the afternoons with Calamity and that seemed to help a little. 

Before she realized it, it had been a week since the day of the attack. She had run the gamut of emotions in that time, but had avoided trying to gather any information about the investigation other than that Shae was still behind bars.

She had awoken that morning to sunlight streaming in through her window. She reached out for the woman that she was sure would be beside her, but instead found only cold sheets. Had she dreamed the Waverly had stayed here last night? For a brief moment, she thought that this was probably all a dream. It was definitely too good to be true. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the sound of her front door being slowly opened. She slid out of bed and made her way out of her bedroom just in time to see Waverly trying to stealthily make her way into the apartment. She had given her a spare key just in case. 

She had donned a pair of tight fitting acid washed jeans and a flowy burgundy top and her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Nicole was keenly aware of how she must have looked. She reached up to try and tame some of her unruly hair, but that was as far as she got before the younger woman turned to face her. Waverly let out a little squeak and jumped at the sight of Nicole standing just outside the bedroom doorway. She almost dropped the 2 cups of coffee and paper bag that she had been trying to juggle as she was coming in. 

“Geez Nicole. You scared the shit out of me. I was going to surprise you with breakfast. I know you loved my pancakes, but I figured that were just too good of an opportunity to pass up officer.” 

Nicole rolled her eyes. Yes she was a cop. Yes she liked donuts. The two weren’t related. At least that's what she tried to tell herself as Waverly handed her the bag and she began looking at the selection. She finally decided on a glazed sour cream donut. She was really surprised that Waverly had decided to get one. She hadn’t met a whole lot of people who liked them. She noticed that Waverly had already snagged the vanilla dipped one.

“Yes. I knew it.” Waverly poked Nicole as she took a bite of her donut. Nicole stopped with her own donut halfway to her mouth to ask “knew what?” before continuing bringing the donut to her mouth. Once Waverly finished chewing, she beamed at Nicole with a smug smile.

“Something told me to buy one. I’ve never tried one, but I thought you might like it.”

“Oh, you’ve gotta try this.” She held her donut out to Waverly, who hesitated only briefly before taking a bite. If the look on her face was any indication, she liked them just as much as Nicole. 

“Oh, I almost forgot!” She passed one of the cups that she had brought in over to Nicole. 

“I know how picky you are about your coffee, so I had them put lots of creamer and sugar packets in the bag.”

Nicole flipped the lid to the coffee open and added her creamer and sugar, stirring with one of the little red stir sticks from the bag. Once she was satisfied, she took a sip and felt her very soul start to warm. After a few minutes of comfortable silence between them, Waverly finally checked the time on her phone and sighed.

“I really don’t want to, but I have to go to work. You can call or text if you need anything. Just try to relax. Play with Calamity. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Wynonna said that she will swing by later and check on you.” Nicole’s heart was sinking in her chest. Waverly had just gotten there and she was leaving already. But she knew that she couldn’t ask her to stay. So she tried to cover her disappointment by taking another sip of her coffee.

“I’ve got to put a call in to Nedley and see when he wants me back to work. I feel like I’ve already taken too much time off. Not to mention I just started.” 

“Listen, he said to take as much time off as you need. Don’t rush it.”

“I know. But my ribs and my eye are healing fine. I’ve almost got my full range of motion back.” She was trying to convince herself just as much as Waverly. She knew that Waverly had been worrying over her for days and she just wanted to feel normal again, not like some delicate doll that had to be treated with care. It just wasn’t who she was.

The look on Waverly’s face told her that she didn’t really believe her, but thankfully, she didn’t argue. She just nodded with a small smile and a quick “okay baby” before leaning up to place a quick kiss on Nicole’s lips. The redhead watched as she gathered her coffee and headed towards the door. She stopped just long enough to wave goodbye before she disappeared through the door. 

Nicole knew that Waverly was right, that technically Nedley had told her to take as much time as she needed, but she knew that she at least needed to check in with him. She had talked to him a couple times since that day in the station, but they had mostly been short calls to tell her the same things that she already knew. He couldn’t tell her details of the investigation. Shae was still in lockup. The DA was building a case. He was trying to expedite it. Though Nedley did do a good job keeping the conversations as professional and short as he could, she was pretty sure that he was calling to check on her more than anything. With that thought in mind, she turned and made her way into her bedroom, grabbing her phone off the nightstand.

The phone rang several times and Nicole was about to just hang up, assuming he was busy, but he finally picked up, sounding surprised. 

“Nicole. Everything okay?”

“Yes sir. I’m healing nicely. Almost got my full range of motion back.” She fed him the same line she had fed Waverly. And if the huff on the other end of the line was any indication, he didn’t believe her anymore than Waverly had.

“I was actually calling to see if you are ready for me to come back to work? I’m getting a little stir crazy. Plus, I need to show you pictures of my new cat.”

Another huff.

“I don’t particularly like cats.”

“You’ll like her. She’s so small and fluffy.”

“Uh huh.”

“Might sneak her in in my uniform shirt.” Nicole giggled a little and she could have sworn she heard a slight chuckle from the other end of the line. 

“Seriously though, Nedley, don’t ya miss me yet? If you want, I can be back tomorrow…” Nicole left the statement hanging in the air, silently praying Nedley would agree that she had recouped enough, even if he did put her on desk duty. 

After a few moments of silence, Nedley finally answered her. This time though, his voice was all seriousness and gruff.

“Listen Nicole, I’d love to tell you to just come back tomorrow. We could use the extra hands. But...I gotta tell you….all hell Nicole. It's all bureaucratic bullshit, but with an officer injured, even if it wasn’t in the line of duty, before you can return to work, you have to undergo a full psychological exam at the very least. I was waiting to tell you until you were ready, but I guess that time is here.”

Nicole knew that this was procedure, but it didn’t stop the anger that was starting to build in her chest. She tried to keep it out of her voice, though.

“Fine. When can I take it?”

“I’ll put the call in. But listen, after the eval, they may still require you to agree to talk to someone before you come back.”

“Nedley, I don’t need a therapist.” This time, the anger had started to seep into her words. 

“Nicole, it honestly might not be a bad idea, even if you pass the psych evaluation. With everything you’ve gone through…”

Her mind immediately flashed to the last time she had been told that she needed therapy. Her parents had insisted that she “go see a professional” after she had come out of the closet. She was pretty sure that the only reason that they hadn’t tried to send her to conversion camp is because of the cost. Instead, she had been forced to spend an hour a week with a creepy old man named Melvin while he tried to get her to talk. To say it wasn’t successful was an understatement. She remembered how angry she was all the time back then. 

“Nedley, I’m fine. Just set up the eval and let me know when it is.” Her voice bit over the phone and she quickly disconnected the call. A part of her knew that he was just concerned about her and wanted to make sure she was ready to come back. But that small part was overshadowed by her inner voice asking “how dare he!?” She flung herself down on the couch, realizing that it might not have been the best idea when she felt the pain shoot up her ribs and around the back of her shoulder. She didn’t have time to adjust, though, before Calamity had jumped up on the couch and made herself comfortable on Nicole’s stomach. So instead of getting back up, Nicole instead reached behind her and grabbed a throw pillow, tucking it under her head. Maybe the kitten had the right idea. Maybe she should just go back to sleep. 

“Fuck it” she whispered to the quiet apartment. 

She tossed her phone on the coffee table after making sure that the volume was all the way up and closed her eyes. The anger was still bubbling up inside of her, but she was eventually able to fall asleep listening to the kitten on her chest purr tranquilly. 

……….

Nicole awoke with a start at the sound of her phone ringing. She checked the caller ID before adjusting her position to lean back against the arm of the couch and slide Calamity into her lap.

“Hey baby.”

“Hey, were you sleeping?”

“Yeah, Calamity and I fell back asleep on the couch. What’s up?”

“Nothing, just on my lunch break. I gotta run to the station and take Wynonna some food, but I wanted to call you before I left. Sounds like I might need to buy stronger coffee next time, huh?” 

Nicole glanced towards the kitchen and saw the cup of coffee sitting on the counter, mostly full and probably cold by now.

“Yeah, maybe.” 

“Is everything okay? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine Waves.”

The silence on the other end of the phone told her that Waverly had picked up on the short answers and the roughness in her voice. She seemed to decide that it was best not to push it.

“Okay baby. Well, I just pulled up to the police station. I’ve gotta drop this food to Wynonna before she gets too hangry and starts shooting at random people. I’ll talk to you later okay?”

Nicole took a deep breath and tried to settle her voice.

“Yes ma’am. And Waves?”

“Yea?”

“Thanks for checking up on me.”

She could hear the smile in Waverly’s voice when she told Nicole that it was no big deal and assured her she would see her once she was off work. 

When the call disconnected and Nicole sat the phone back on the coffee table, she looked around the apartment. She was determined to find something to do to keep her busy. She decided that she would go through the stuff that had been hastily piled in the back of her closet when she had moved in. She didn’t want to think about not being allowed to return to work or the thought of being forced to see a therapist. She made her way to the bedroom and plopped down in front of her open closet door and pulled out the first box.

An hour later, she had made a lot of headway. Most of it was just random paperwork or knick knacks that she just hadn’t made the time to go through and sort. She was feeling super productive and finally beginning to feel a little lighter when she picked up a stack of paperwork to sort and there it was. Shae’s face staring up at her from the box. Nicole knew that she should just toss it out with everything else and not give it a second thought. But something in her made her freeze as she realized she knew exactly when the photo had been taken. 

It had been their first rock climbing trip they took right after they were married. Shae looked so happy in the picture and Nicole remembered how she had felt like she had captured her whole world with a camera. Back then, Nicole had brushed off Shae’s possessiveness as just overprotectiveness. Shae had yet to hit her for the first time in anger. Things were so much simpler. The longer she started at the picture, the more she felt hollow inside. She couldn’t even remember what had happened to change things between them. Had she even known when it happened? When a switch had seemed to flip between them. Was it something that she had done? 

She shook her head and felt the emotions start to swirl inside of her. She couldn’t deal with this today. She stood up and decided that the best solution would be some whiskey. She stood and headed towards the kitchen, stopping a couple steps before she reached her door. When had she picked the picture up? Why was she still holding it? 

She let go of it like it had sliced into her palm and let it flutter out of her hand. She paid no attention to where it landed, already headed towards the kitchen before it hit the ground.

Once in the kitchen, she grabbed the whiskey and a shot glass from her cabinet. She sat them both on the counter before sliding onto a barstool. She poured the first shot and threw it back without any hesitation. She welcomed the burn as it made its way down and poured another. Not like she had anything else to do today. After she threw the second one back, she pulled out her phone. No new messages. No missed calls. Oh well. She remembered Waverly saying that Wynonna was going to be stopping by to check on her. Though she knew that Wynonna would probably be more than willing to help her drink her whiskey, she wasn't sure that she wanted the company right now. Maybe she could get out of it. She shot Wynonna a quick text telling her that she was indeed fine and that she did not have to come by just to check on her. She received back a short “you sure?” and when she confirmed, Wynonna dropped it and said she would be at Shorty’s if Nicole would like to join her. This time it was Nicole's turn to be short.

“Maybe later.”

That was honestly easier than she had expected. But then again, why shouldn’t it be. She was a grown ass adult and didn’t need a babysitter. She could already feel the effects of the alcohol, but poured herself another shot anyways. She was just tired of feeling anything at this point. 

The more alcohol she consumed, the less she noticed the passing of time. She had returned to the couch, bottle in hand, deciding against continuing the clean out of her closet. When her phone dinged, she almost dropped it. It was Waverly telling her that she was off work and would be there soon. Nicole just sent a heart emoji, the best she could do at that point. At least now she only felt one thing: drunk. She giggled to herself and laid her head back against the couch. What seemed like just a few minutes later, she heard the sound of her door unlocking, but made no attempt to move. 

“Nicole?” 

Waverly obviously hadn’t seen her slumped over on the couch and for some reason this made Nicole giggle. Waverly followed the soft sounds to the couch, finally noticing her. 

“Nicole, are you okay?”

“Yea, fantastic,” she slurred back to the woman standing over her. 

“You’re drunk.” It wasn’t a question. 

“Yes ma’am.” Nicole glanced at the bottle now sitting on the coffee table, almost empty. Had she really drank that much? Oh well.

“Well, did you and Calamity have a good day?” As she asked, she ran her fingers gently through the fur of the kitten now perched on the back of the couch. 

Nicole just scoffed, but didn’t answer.

Waverly looked at her curiously and slid down onto the couch.

Nicole knew that she had to give her something. 

“Calamity may have.” Nicole reached for the bottle, taking a long swig before continuing. 

“Called Nedley today to ask about coming back to work.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that I have to have a psych eval before I can come back.”

“Well, that sounds pretty standard. Wynonna got shot once on a case. Nothing major. But they still made her do a psych eval before she could come back.” Nicole knew that it did in fact make sense, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Her career was literally being put in the hands of some stranger who would probably only talk to her for 5 minutes before passing judgement on her. The mix of emotions was too much. She had to move. She stood up from the couch with bottle in hand and marched towards the kitchen, stumbling as she went. She had no real reason to actually be in here, but she opened the refrigerator, scanned the contents, and shut it again anyways. 

When she turned around, Waverly had gotten up and followed her. She was now perched on a bar stool just a few feet away. 

“Is that all he said?”

“No, it's not.” The alcohol was doing little to fend off the anger from earlier from coming back. 

“He said that there is a chance that the person doing the eval will require that I agree to therapy before I can come back.”

Waverly watched her, seeming to contemplate her next words. Finally she spoke up, voice firm.

“You know Nicole, even if they don’t require it, it might do you some good baby…”

“No! No fucking way! Don’t you start in on me too!” 

Nicole again attempted to just walk away, finishing the last of what was in her bottle. Before she could get even a step past Waverly though, she felt the smaller girl reach out and grab her wrist.

“Nicole, baby, we just want you to get better.”

“I am better.”

“You’re drunk Nicole.” 

“It’s better than feeling all the emotions I have been over the last week.”

“That’s why you need therapy baby.”

“I don’t fucking need therapy!” Before her mind could process what her body was doing, she had flung the bottle across the room, shattering it against the wall. 

The look of fear that flashed across Waverly’s face was enough to break something loose in Nicole. She felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks and she dipped her head before muttering “i gotta go”. She was through the door before Waverly could react. She was wound too tight to process that she had just run out of her own apartment. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she knew it couldn’t be here.


	17. Chapter 17

Before she knew it, Nicole had made it out the apartment building and her long legs were carrying her swiftly down the sidewalk. Her mind was swimming and the alcohol wasn't helping. She knew that this time, she had gone too far. She may not have actually hit Waverly, but she had seen the look on her face. That was enough. She knew that look all too well. The look she would imagine would be on the face of someone facing off with a charging bear. The look that says “If I just don't move...if I just dont breath…”. She had worn that look all too often in her relationship with Shae. This thought made the tears fall even faster. 

Between the tears and the alcohol, Nicole was having trouble even seeing where she was going on the sidewalk. But she knew that if she stopped, her feet would just carry her back home. She knew that she couldn’t face her empty apartment. But facing Waverly would be worse. This was far from the Nicole that she wanted the smaller woman to see. This was not who she was, at least not anymore. Shae had made sure of that. The first outburst of anger with her had been the last. Shae had made sure to quell most of those feelings with a firm hand. 

Nicole made a hard right down the sidewalk, dodging people as she went. She knew that she must be heading towards the outskirts of town because the amount of people that she encountered seemed to be dwindling off. She kept moving as fast as her feet would carry her.

Waverly didn’t deserve this. No one did. Shae was right, Nicole was broken. She wasn’t deserving of all the kindness that had been shown to her recently. She was a plague on the lives of everyone naive enough to get close to her. Poor Waverly. She had just been trying to help and Nicole had again messed it all up. Waverly would probably never want to speak to her again. Wynonna would probably beat her worse than Shae. She deserved it. She deserved all of it. 

A clap of thunder echoed overhead and Nicole barely perceived it. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants, noticing for the first time that she did not have her cell phone with her. Probably for the best. There was no one that needed to get a hold of her at this point. The only person who she really needed to hear back from was Nedley and he would probably just assume that she was busy or in the shower and leave a message anyways. 

Nicole wasn’t sure how far she had walked when the first drop of rain hit her cheek. Far enough out that the sidewalk had ended and she was now making her way down the shoulder of the only road out of town. Maybe she should just keep walking. Maybe she should run, just like he always did. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her as the rain finally started to fall fully. 

She didn’t stop walking until she made it to the city limit sign. By that point, she was so exhausted. Physically. Mentally. She just needed the world to stop spinning for 5 fucking minutes. She had no idea how long she had been walking, but it was enough time for the sun to fully set and Nicole was almost positive that, had the rainclouds not been blocking it out, the moon would already be high in the sky. 

She slumped down on the ground with her back against one of the thick posts supporting the sign. The sign itself did very little to protect her from the rain, but it was at least keeping some of the wind off of her. She pulled her body in on itself and placed her head between her knees. She sat like this, letting all the anger and sadness that she had leak out through her eyes and mix with the raindrops that had already soaked her to the bone. She paid no attention to the sound of the cars driving by. Ever so often, she thought she would hear one start to slow down and she would pray that they didn’t stop. She just wanted to be alone right now. 

She wasn’t sure how long she sat like this before she started to feel sleep overtaking her. At least the rain had stopped. Napping on the side of the road probably wasn’t the best idea, but at this point, she didn’t have the energy to fight it. She heard a car start to pull off the road, but paid little attention to it. Surely they were just turning around. 

“Nicole!”

Of all the voices that might have been yelling her name with that level of concern, she did not expect this one to be coming from under an almost over the top moustache. She looked up to see Doc walking to her slowly, clearly trying to avoid spooking her. Her eyes didn’t seem to want to focus, but she managed to make it to her feet without falling over. 

By the time that she was standing semi-straight, Doc had stopped walking and was standing just a few feet from her. 

“Nicole….you are soaking wet. Let me take you back. You’ll catch your death out here.” 

She wanted to be angry at Doc, but then a thought struck her.

“How did you find me?” She still hadn’t moved and wasn’t sure if she should.

“I myself know what it is like to want to run as far and as fast from one’s problems as possible. But Waverly would have me dead if I left you out here.”

“She shouldn’t care. After what I did….I can’t go back. I’m as much of a monster as Shae is.” 

“Now I will hear none of that Nicole Haught. I have pursued monsters like her and I have put them in the ground. I have seen anger with malice behind it and this is not it. You are not that person.”

Nicole stared at Doc and tried to convey how little she believed him through the look in her eyes. He finally sighed and gestured to the car.

“Fine Nicole, if you are hell bent on not going back home, then at least get in the car. I have somewhere that we can go. It’s not much, but at least I can build us a fire and pour us some whiskey once we reach our destination. Plus, I have a blanket in the car.”

“Doc, you seem like a really nice guy, but you’re not exactly my type.” Nicole knew that he had a point, that she couldn’t just stand out here all night, so she made her way to the passenger side of the car.

As he got into the car, Doc was grinning ear to ear.

“Darlin’ I’m everybody's type.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, but gladly took the blanket that Doc had retrieved from the backseat. She wrapped it around her and rested her head against the window as they headed towards their destination. Nicole noticed that they were not heading back towards town, but instead had turned off the blacktop down a dirt road. Neither had spoken a word on their whole trip, but as they pulled up closer to the buildings that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere in the darkness, Nicole finally raised her head and jokingly asked “You’re not bringing me out here to kill me are you?”

Doc chuckled a little before reassuring her that his intentions were nothing of the like. As they pulled under an archway out in front, Nicole noticed something.

“Doc, why does that sign say EARP?”

“Welcome to the Homestead darlin. I’ve been staying out in the barn while I get this place fixed back up for Wynonna and Waverly.”

Nicole took a moment to process this new information. She had heard both Earps reference this place. She knew that this is where they had lived as kids. She wondered why they didn’t live here now? Was it just because it had fallen into disrepair? It sounded like they were planning on moving back. Hell, tonight might expedite that process. She figured both sisters would want to be away from her as soon as possible. 

Doc killed the engine and pointed towards the closed barn door.

“Why don’t you head inside and grab another blanket and a bottle of whiskey? I’ll get the fire going and grab a couple glasses from the house.”

Nicole did as directed and headed towards the barn. The blankets were stacked by the door, so she grabbed one off the top and looked around, finally noticing multiple bottles of whiskey sitting in a crate to the right of a makeshift bed. She Had never heard of the brand. She shrugged and headed back outside.

As promised, Doc already had the fire started and she noticed 2 glasses sitting on one of the 4 chairs surrounding the firepit. Nicole pulled the blanket tighter around her and set the whiskey down on the chair beside the glasses, dropping the spare blanket over the back of said chair. She sat down in the chair next to it and watched Doc stoke the fire. When his phone started ringing, he stook up and pulled it from his pocket. From the look on his face, he was fighting some inner battle on whether or not to answer. He clearly thought better of ignoring it though, as he placed it to his ear. He turned fully towards Nicole and mouthed a single word: Wynonna. He then turned and started pacing around the fire.

Nicole drew in on herself and could only imagine what the older Earp was saying. Did she know Nicole was here? She shouldn’t be here. Not after what she did to Waverly.

“Why, hello darlin….I am at the homestead...uh huh…” He stopped pacing and turned to look at Nicole. “We are both perfectly fine. There is no need for you to come all the way out here….I see....uh huh. I will advise her.” With that, he hung up and turned back to her. 

“Wynonna is on her way. I would advise you to run, but she seems hellbent on having a conversation with you.” Doc hung his head and shook it. They both knew it would not be a pleasant conversation for Nicole.

He walked to the chair beside Nicole and poured two drinks, handing one to Nicole before sitting down. Neither spoke, just staring into the fire until the low rumble of an approaching vehicle caught their attention. They both knew who it was and Nicole knew that she deserved whatever was coming. She stood from her chair, draining the whiskey in her glass and sitting the glass on her chair before stepping closer to the fire. Doc did the same with his glass and headed towards the driveway as headlights bounced off the house. 

She heard a car door slam and she turned slowly when she heard Wynonna scream her name. Doc had stepped between them, but Wynonna was not going to be stopped. She closed the distance between them quickly. Nicole didn’t even attempt to block the hard right hook that connected with her jaw. She stumbled back a little and another punch landed, this time knocking her down. She shrugged off the blanket, but didn’t attempt to get up or defend herself. She deserved this. The tears began to flow, even though she was fighting them back with everything she had. 

When another blow didn’t land after a few seconds, she spit out a mouthful of blood and looked up. The anger that was in Wynonna’s eyes just a few minutes ago had seemed to dampen a little and she shook her head before screaming “Goddamnit Haught!” When she stuck her hand out to help Nicole up, she flinched and that seemed to be enough for Wynonna. She let out a loud sigh and walked away, presumably to the whiskey. Nicole spit out more blood and pushed herself to her feet. When she turned again, Wynonna stood before her holding 2 glasses of whiskey. She noticed that Doc had made his way around to the other side of the fire, watching the two women curiously. Wynonna sighed and held one of the glasses out to Nicole.

“Here. Swish some around in your mouth. It’ll help.”

Nicole took the glass and hung her head, doing as she was told. 

“Listen Nicole, you fucked up but I shouldn’t have….”

Nicole cut her off, shaking her head with tears in her eyes.

“No, I deserved it. You brought an angel into my life and I’ve been nothing but trouble since then. You guys have been way too kind to me. I don’t expect Waverly to ever want to speak to me again, let alone see me. I….idk….maybe I just need to find another apartment…”

“Oh, shut up Nicole. You have gone through more in the last couple weeks than most people do in a lifetime. And you took my right hook like a champ. But I shouldn’t have hit you. You’re still fucking healing from what that cunt did to you. We all lose our tempers from time to time. I’ve broken more bottles against walls than I can count. I only got so mad because it's Waverly. I am glad to see that you aren’t dead in a ditch somewhere.”

Nicole just nodded and hugged herself, finally feeling a cold deep inside that the whiskey couldn’t touch. Wynonna noticed and nodded towards the house.

“Come on Haught. Surely to god there is some old clothes in here that we can get you into so that you aren’t standing around in those wet ones. Doc, throw another log on the fire. We will be back.”

Nicole was afraid to speak at this point and instead simply followed Wynonna into the house. After going through a couple closets, the only clothes that would fit Nicole in the house was an old plaid button up and a pair of Purgatory High sweatpants that Wynonna claimed to have stolen from an old ex boyfriend. Nicole changed in a dimly lit bedroom, keenly aware of the way her body ached all over. She was working on the last of the buttons when she heard a car door slam outside. The bedroom she was in did not have a clear view of the front of the house and Nicole wondered if Wynonna had decided to leave. She pulled the shirt tighter around her and made her way back towards the front door. As she reached for the handle, she realized that there was someone standing just the other side of it. She hesitated, telling herself that she didn’t deserve what her heart was hoping for. As she pulled the door open, her dreams were a reality. There stood Waverly Earp, tears in her eyes, staring up at her. 

Nicole wanted a million things in that moment. She wanted to hold Waverly and tell her she was sorry. She wanted to run away before she could do any more damage. She wanted to kiss those soft, warm lips. Instead she just stood there for what felt like forever, but in fact was no more than a split second. Before she could make a decision, Waverly’s arms were around her neck and she was sobbing into the fabric of the button up.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. You didn’t take your phone and I wasn’t sure if I should follow. Then it started getting later and I had no idea where you went. I’m sorry for what I said. I just wanted to help baby.” 

Even though she wanted nothing more than to run away, Nicole knew that she could never just leave Waverly. Not for long. The beautiful angel was the closest to home that she had felt in a long time. She felt her own tears begin to fall again and she felt all resolve and fight melt away.

“I’m so sorry Waves. I know you just want to help. I don’t deserve such an angel in my life. I’m broken Waverly. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I…maybe I do need therapy...I just, when I was a kid, I didn’t have the best experience…”

Her words were cut off when the brunette pulled her head lower, connecting their lips. It was just a brief chaste kiss, but it left Nicole chasing Waverly’s lips with her own.

“We don’t have to talk about it tonight. For now, I just want you safe. With me.”

“Waves, are you sure you still want me around? After what happened earlier…”

Nicole was cut off again with a kiss, this one hot and rough and full of unspoken promises. When they finally broke apart, they stood with their heads pressed together trying to catch their breath. Nicole felt Waverly’s hand slowly stroke her cheek before she whispered softly.

“Let's go home baby.” 

Nicole just nodded and let Waverly take her hand, leading her to the car. God, she didn’t deserve this woman. But she knew, in that moment, she would follow her to the ends of the Earth.


	18. Chapter 18

Once in the car, Waverly cranked the heat up higher and shot a sad smile towards Nicole. As they pulled out the driveway, Nicole couldn’t take her eyes off of her angel. The only sound in the car was the purr of the engine and the sound of the tires on the road. The redhead knew that she needed to try and explain herself, but had no idea where to start.

“Waves, I’m sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it. I….I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just keep losing my temper. It all happened so fast. With everything that’s been going on, I….I just can’t seem to get a hold on anything. I feel like I’m steadily spiralling. I know that therapy may help. But...when I was a kid….” Nicole took a deep breath. Waverly deserved to know the truth and there was no point in trying to hide it. 

“When I was a kid, I had issues with my anger. Working with the horses and feeling like I was actually making a difference helped, but….when I came out….my parents insisted I go see a therapist. It was therapy or conversion camp. I can’t say exactly what it was, but something about the therapist they sent me to just gave me the creeps. All he seemed to be concentrated on was trying to tell me that how I felt was wrong. Eventually, I stopped talking. After a while, I think he just gave up. It left a bad taste for therapy in my mouth. I felt like it was just ineffective. That I was better dealing with my issues on my own. I learned how to hide that shit. Then I met Shae. I did good for a while, but then...then I snapped one night and she beat the hell out of me. She convinced me that, yes I was very sick, but that she was the only one that could make me better. I think she was just afraid that I would slip up and tell the therapist what was going on at home. Eventually…..eventually I just thought that this was my cross to bear and I stopped even trying to talk to her about it. By that point, I had no friends that weren’t hers and nowhere to go. I just shut down. Once I finally left her, I thought it would get better. I knew that I was broken, but I didn’t want to admit to myself just how much. I should have warned you before we ever got involved. I’m toxic Waverly.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes, Nicole staring down at her hands in her lap. She was afraid that this had all been too much for Waverly. She stole a glance up at the smaller woman and could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She realized that they were almost back to the apartment at this point. Maybe this was it….maybe everything was ending between them and Waverly was just gonna take her back to the apartment and leave her there. A panic crept up in her throat at the thought of losing her, but she knew that she deserved it. Tears stung her eyes again and she stared out the window until Waverly had parked the Jeep. The smaller girl still hadn’t said anything. Nicole knew she had to get out of here. As she reached for the door handle, she felt fingers wrap around her free hand and she was almost afraid to turn her head to see the look on Waverly’s face. After a small squeeze to her captured hand, she looked up. There were tears slowly sliding down the beautiful brunette’s face. Nicole opened her mouth to speak, but instead turned slightly in the seat, gently brushing the tears from her cheeks with the hand that just a few seconds ago was on the door handle. She gently returned the squeeze that she had just received from Waverly and looked her in the eye for the first time since leaving the homestead. 

“Nicole, I don’t even know where to begin to apologize for what you’ve been through. I know that you feel like you are broken and toxic, but I see you. I’ve seen you fighting with everything in you and still coming out strong. I could not have done what you have. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. I know you think it's better to be alone, but I want you to know that I am here as long as you will let me be. We will get through this together. I promise.” 

Nicole didn’t know what to say, but she felt her heart swell and she leaned closer to the smaller girl, kissing her softly on the forehead before resting her own head there.

“Thank you Waverly.”

They sat there for a few minutes before Nicole finally pulled back and reached for the door handle again. Waverly seemed to hesitate before following her lead. Once they were both out of the Jeep, Nicole walked around it, reaching for Waverly’s hand and lacing their fingers together. She could tell Waverly was holding on just a little bit tighter than necessary and she resolved to make sure that she didn’t let go until they reached her apartment. Once inside, Nicole let go of her hand long enough to lock the door before turning back around. She rested her back against the door and watched as Waverly made her way over to the couch. She quickly scooped up Calamity Jane and made her way back over to Nicole.

“I’m not the only one who was worried about you.” She was gently stroking the tiny ball of fur in her arms. Nicole couldn’t help but giggle when she realized the irony. Waverly looked at her questioningly.

“It’s just, you're standing there petting my….you know what, nevermind. Though I do appreciate the dry clothes Wynonna provided,” she gestured to her current attire, “my sports bra and underwear are still damp and I would very much like to get out of them.”

This time it was Waverly’s turn to giggle.

“No, I completely agree that you should get out of your damp underwear.”

The realization of what she had just said hit her and Nicole felt the blush creeping up her face. She just shook her head and walked towards the bedroom. As she reached the doorway, she turned back towards the smaller woman who was still standing in the same spot holding the kitten.

“You can follow me if you’d like.”

A mischievous smile split Waverly’s face but she just nodded and headed towards the bedroom. 

Nicole had already started unbuttoning the top few buttons on the shirt when Waverly sat down on the bed beside where she was standing. Once he had shed the shirt and sweatpants, she peeled the sports bra off. She could feel Waverly’s eyes on her and she tried not to shiver under the intense gaze. Her whole body felt sticky and she knew that it was the combination of sweat and rainwater. She gestured over her shoulder towards the closed bathroom door finally making eye contact again with Waverly.

“Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

“Do you mind if I join you?” 

Judging by the look on Waverly’s face, she was just as shocked as Nicole by the words that had just tumbled out of her mouth. She didn’t try to take them back though. Nicole didn’t hesitate to step closer to where she sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her to her feet and kissing her roughly. She broke the kiss just long enough to tug Waverly’s tshirt off before connecting their lips again. She slid her hands up from where they were resting on Waverly hips and slid her palms over the lacy fabric of her bra before sliding around her back. With deft fingers, she popped the clasp on the offending piece of fabric and pulled it off, tossing it nowhere in particular. She wanted so badly to say fuck the shower, but she knew that her body needed it. She kissed along Waverly’s jaw, nipping lightly and ran her tongue along the shell of her ear. A soft moan reached Nicole’s ears as Waverly pushed her body impossibly closer to hers. Nicole placed a final kiss just below her ear and whispered “shower” before letting go of her and stepping back. 

The pout that was evident on Waverly’s face was adorable and she glared at Nicole. 

“Tease.”

“You like it.” Nicole winked at her and turned fully to head to the shower, knowing Waverly would follow. 

She turned the hot water on, adjusting it to being just a hair under too hot. She shed the boxers and tossed them towards a hamper in the corner of the room. She knew Waverly had walked in behind her, but she still giggled a little when the pair of lacy underwear sailed past her from behind and into the hamper. She turned to see Waverly standing leaned against her sink, completely naked in front of her for the first time. The sound of the shower and everything else seemed to melt away as she took in the sight in front of her. She wanted nothing more than to kiss every inch of skin before her. Waverly cleared her throat, drawing Niclole’s attention back to her face. She had definitely been caught staring. The younger woman pointed towards the shower.

“Get in baby.” 

Nicole stepped into the shower. She was thankful, not for the first time, that the shower was big and roomy. She stepped under the spray and let the hot water sting her skin. She heard the shower door shut behind her a split second before she felt Waverly’s body press into her back and her arms wrap around her waist. She turned in her arms and pulled Waverly flush against the front of her body, letting the water cascade down her back. She felt some of the tension ease out of the muscles of her back but the look in Waverly’s eyes was causing other parts of her body to coil tighter and tighter. 

She quickly grabbed the loofah hanging off the shelf to her right and lathered it up with body wash. The smell of warm vanilla seemed to fill the shower and Waverly grinned.

“So this is why you always smell like vanilla dipped donuts.” 

Nicole just nodded and began quickly scrubbing her body. After a couple minutes, Waverly took the loofah from her and motioned for her to turn around. She did so immediately and felt the loofah being slid slowly down her back, down around her hip, and back up her side. She repeated the process down the other side, this time a little slower. Once she had finished the circuit, she sat the loofah back on the shelf and used her fingers to massage the soap suds into Nicole’s skin. 

It was all too much for Nicole and she spun around, crashing her lips into Waverly’s. She pressed the brunette against the back wall of the shower, moving from her lips, down her neck, then across her collarbone. She could hear Waverly’s breathing getting ragged over the sound of the shower running and she continued lower, catching one taunt nipple in her mouth as her fingers found the other. She swirled her tongue roughly around it before nipping at it lightly. She heard Waverly whimper and she grinned to herself, kissing across her chest and capturing her other nipple in her mouth. She gave this one equal attention before moving to kiss lower, down her stomach and around her hip. She had moved down to be kneeling in front of her and looked up at her questioningly. Waverly just whimpered again in response. 

Nicole kissed along her thigh before lifting it and placing it gently on her shoulder. She bit along the inside of the warm thigh, making her way closer to Waverly’s warm center. She looked up and locked eyes with Waverly as she ran her tongue slowly up her slit, pressing down firmly. Waverly tasted so good. She let her tongue dip between her folds, teasing her clit before sliding lower. Waverly’s finger tangled in Nicole’s hair, pulling her tighter against her. Spurred on by the brunette, Nicole ran her tongue back down, continuing to tease her. She finally brought her tongue back up to her clit, sucking it into her mouth slowly as she slid one, then two fingers inside of her. She felt Waverly’s walls tighten at the intrusion, but as her hips bucked to meet Nicole’s fingers, she quickly picked up a steady rhythm, her tongue still making rough circles around her clit. 

It didn’t take long before Nicole felt Waverly’s body begin to shake and she knew she was close. She picked up the pace, wanting nothing more than to drive Waverly over the edge. She looked up just in time to see Waverly throw her head back. Nicole’s hand slowed, letting Waverly ride out her orgasm, but was surprised to feel the hand in her hair grip tighter and yank roughly, attempting to pull her to her feet. She stood up, never letting her hand completely still, and kissed Waverly with everything she had. The taste of Waverly’s lips mixed with the taste of the woman herself and Nicole was in heaven. She slid her arm around Waverly’s ass and easily lifted the woman off the ground, again pinning her to the wall and trapping her arm between them. Waverly took the hint and wrapped her legs around the tall redhead, grinding her hips down into her hand. Nicole adjusted her stance to slide her thigh under her hand to support her and curled her fingers slowly in a come hither motion. She could see by the look on the brunette’s face that she was close to cumming again and she leaned in close to Waverly’s ear.

“Cum for me baby.”

Waverly’s hips ground down harder into her hand and Nicole knew that she was close to cumming as well. It was not an unwelcome surprise when Waverly sunk her teeth into her uninjured shoulder, trying her best to stifle a moan. The sharp pain mixed with the feel of Waverly cumming hard around her fingers was enough to push Nicole over the edge as well, moaning roughly in Waverly’s ear. Nicole slid her thigh out from under her hand and slowly removed her fingers. She used both arms to support Waverly until she was sure that the other woman was going to be able to stand, then she slowly lowered her down. Once on her feet, Waverly laid her head against Nicole’s chest, both of them trying to catch their breath. 

“You know, that is not exactly what I meant when I asked to join you in the shower but I’m definitely not complaining.” 

Nicole kissed the top of Waverly’s head and reached behind her back to turn off the water. She didn’t want to let the beautiful angel in her arms go, but she knew that they could only stand in the still present steam of the shower for so long before the air would start to cool. 

“Come on baby, let's get into bed.” 

They both stepped out of the shower, drying off in silence before heading to the bedroom. Nicole grinned to herself as she pulled the tshirt that Waverly had worn the first night she stayed over out of the drawer and handed it to her. Nicole hadn’t worn the shirt since washing it, already deciding in her mind that that tshirt belonged to Waverly now. She pulled on a tshirt of her own and a pair of plaid boxers before crawling into bed, Waverly right behind her. She slid down so that Waverly could stretch out with her head on her chest and they fell into easy conversation. Neither of them wanted to talk about anything too heavy, instead electing to go over the more basic things that they still didn’t know about each other: favorite color, favorite sports team, past pets, siblings (even though Nicole was more than familiar with the older of the two Earps), etc. 

Before long, Nicole could see the sun start to slowly peak in through the blinds. Her eyes were heavy and she could already feel Waverly’s breathing start to even out beside her. She softly planted one last kiss on the top of Waverly’s head before softly whispering to her peacefully sleeping angel something she wasn’t sure she had the courage yet to say to her awake.

“I love you Waverly Earp.”


	19. Chapter 19

Nicole was awoken to the sound of her phone ringing. She reached for it on the nightstand, but immediately felt an arm tighten around her waist. Waverly nuzzled closer to her, grumbling something incoherent before falling back to sleep. Nicole beamed down at her, content just to watch her sleep. 

She forgot about the phone until it dinged indicating a new voicemail. She tried her best not to move the rest of her body while she reached out for it. She was just barely able to reach it from the angle she lay in. She frowned though when she saw the missed call was from Nedley. After everything last night, she had forgotten that she had told him to set her up for the psych eval. She almost didn’t want to listen to it, but decided that she really did need to face this. She made sure to turn the volume down on her phone before hitting play. The message was short and sweet, advising Nicole that he was sorry, but tomorrow would be the earliest that they could get someone in. Nicole was thankful for that. Today, she just wanted to lay here in bed with Waverly. She shot him a quick message back telling him that that would be fine and that she was sorry for her behavior yesterday. She promised to call him later so that they could talk. He sent back a thumbs up emoji. Since when did Nedley learn to use emojis?

She laid the phone down on the bed beside her and wrapped her arm around Waverly, pulling her even tighter to her side. The younger woman stirred a little and her eyes finally fluttered open. 

“Good morning baby.” She glanced over at the alarm clock on her nightstand. 

“Or should I say afternoon. It’s 1 PM.” 

“Morning.” She smiled up at her, adjusting herself so that she could look up into Nicole’s eyes. When she did, her smile seemed to fade into a look of concern.

“Nicole, what happened last night?” Nicole was a little confused by the question until she reached up and touched one side of her jaw. She felt the pain radiating outward slightly and she was sure that there was a bruise forming. 

“Um….listen….don’t be mad. Wynonna had every reason to hit me. I was an ass and you’re her sister and….”

The information seemed to have finally processed in Waverly’s sleep fogged mind and she sat up in the bed to better look at Nicole.

“She hit you!?” 

“Twice. She’s got a mean right hook.”

“I can’t believe she would do that! I explicitly told her that I wanted to talk to you before she went flying off the handle. I can’t believe her.” Waverly was trying her best to wiggle out from under the blankets, more than likely to find her phone. Nicole cupped her face softly, forcing her to turn back to look at her. 

“Waves, I am okay. I’m not mad, so you can’t be mad at her. She was trying to protect you. She didn’t break anything, just bruised me. I’ll heal. I’m sure her hand is hurting this morning too.” She dropped one hand to catch Waverly’s where it lay on the blanket and she squeezed it gently. 

“I still don’t like that she hit you Nicole. After everything recently...she…”Waverly sighed, searching Nicole’s eyes for something. “You’re sure you’re okay?” Nicole just nodded and brushed a stray hair out of her face. Waverly seemed to finally relax. 

Just as she was curling back into Nicole’s side, an all too familiar ringtone started coming from Waverly’s phone on the dresser. They both had the same ringtone for the woman. Nicole just sighed. 

“Speak of the devil.” 

Waverly slid out of bed and snatched up the phone, her irritation just a notch below what it had been earlier. Without even a hello, Waverly answered the phone. 

“Yes Wynonna? Yes we did. I stayed at Nicole’s last night. No, I don’t want to join you for lunch. Because you punched my girlfriend Wynonna!” Nicole’s face lit up. Waverly had never called her her girlfriend before. At least it kept them from having that conversation. Whatever Wynonna had said had made Waverly go quiet all of a sudden. Finally she sighed. 

“Okay, fine. Where at? Of course that’s where you’d choose. Okay, see you in….about 30 then? Okay bye.” She finally turned, giving her full attention to Nicole. 

“Wynonna wants to meet at Shorty’s for lunch in 30 minutes. She says that she needs to “really talk” with you. I told her we would go, but if you’d rather, we can just stay in. I’ll tell her you’re not up to it.”

Nicole just stared at the smaller woman for a minute before answering. 

“It’s fine. I am actually kinda hungry. And Waves….you called me your girlfriend.” 

Waverly must not have caught it because for a second she looked like she was afraid she might have overstepped. Nicole just smiled bigger.

“Glad it’s official.”

Waverly pounced onto the bed and began peppering her face in kisses. Nicole wrapped her arms around her waist and held her to her, connecting their lips. The kiss quickly deepened and Nicole finally had to pull away.

“We have to get ready and go to lunch with your sister.”

Waverly sighed, but climbed back off the bed. She grabbed her jeans from the night before and pulled them on. 

"I'm going to run back to the apartment and change real quick. I'll meet you back here in 5 minutes or so?"

"Sounds like a plan." 

Waverly headed for the door as Nicole slid out of bed, but stopped in the doorway to the bedroom. She turned around, biting her lip.

"Hey Nicole?"

The redhead glanced up, seeing the adoring look on her girlfriend's face. 

"Yes ma'am?"

"I love you too." With that, she turned and walked out, completely missing the goofy smile on Nicole's face and the tears that were threatening to fall.

Nicole threw on a bra and white tshirt before grabbing a pair of ripped jeans and a plaid button up from her closet. She knew that there was no way that she was gonna get the smile off her face today. After she ran a comb through her hair and made sure she looked presentable, she headed for the kitchen. She scooped up Calamity on her way out the door and began petting her softly as she made sure that she had plenty of food and water. Before she set her back down, she kissed the top of her head and whispered to her.

"Calamity, Wavery Earl told me she loved me." 

Nicole didn't think she would ever get over the high she got from the other woman. She was just too good to be true. Nicole felt like a broken mess on most days recently, but for some reason, she loved her anyways. 

*********

As promised, Waverly was back in 5 minutes. They made their way, hand-in-hand out of the apartment building and down the sidewalk, electing to walk the short distance to the bar. As they made their way into the bar, Nicole noticed that it was unusually quiet. Granted, she had never been in this early. She spotted the older Earp sitting in a corner booth, nursing what looked to be whiskey. Nicole considered ordering one for herself, but Waverly had seen her drunk far too much lately. It was not her place to judge Wynonna, she knew that. But for her, she would settle for something a lot less strong. 

Once at the booth, Waverly slid in beside her sister, pulling Nicole after her. She did not know if Waverly had purposefully separated them, but she was a little glad that she had. Even if she did deserve Wynonna’s wrath, she really didn't want to be swung on again. It seemed like Wynhonna wasn’t going to be the one swinging today.

“Ow Waves, what the fuck!?” Wynonna rubbed her arm where Waverly had just punched her. Waverly didn’t answer, just stared daggers at her sister. Nicole was tempted to laugh, but didn’t want her girlfriend to turn that look on her. 

“You’re right, I deserved that.”

“I should hit you again.” She was still glaring at her sister. Wynonna looked shocked and turned her attention to Nicole.

“Tattle tell.” 

Nicole opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead, she reached around and wrapped her fingers around the fist that Waverly was aiming at Wynonna.

“Wynonna, you said you wanted to talk. Start talking.” Waverly was no less angry, but had appeared to calm a little with Nicole’s arm now around her. A thick sigh escaped Wynonna’s lips, before she polished off her drink and turned to fully face them. 

“Listen Tater Haught, I shouldn’t have hit you like that...twice. I was pissed, but I shouldn’t have done it. It’s just...that’s something I would do. Fly off the handle and break things. And Waves deserves so much better than me.” Her gaze seemed to harden as she stared off into nothingness. Her gaze snapped back to Nicole though, when the redhead broke the silence between them. 

“She deserves better than any of us.” She smiled down at the woman as she spoke and Waverly laced their fingers together. 

“Damn right she does.” Wynonna reached out and took Waverly’s other hand. 

The three of them sat like this for a few moments before Wynonna slapped her hand on the table and pointed at the bar.

“I’m gonna go grab another round. You guys want one? Of course you do.” She took off before they could even answer and Nicole chuckled a little, pulling Waverly closer to her and kissing the top of her head. 

Before long, Wynonna was back with the drinks and they all settled into the booth and ordered their food. Nicole felt her stomach growling at the thought of the bacon cheeseburger that was going to be coming her way. Wynonna had recommended it and Waverly had gotten the veggie version of what the other two women had ordered. They didn’t have to wait long, and they fell into a comfortable silence as they devoured their food. 

Nicole finally sat back, hand on her stomach.

“I agree Wynonna, that was delicious.” 

“Told ya Haught. Shorty’s has the best burger in town. I think it’s because the cook is drunk.” 

Waverly whacked Wynonna on the arm playfully. 

“Gus would kill you if she heard you talking about her like that.” 

She turned to Nicole, still smiling to herself. 

“She’s our aunt. Her and our Uncle Curtis raised Wynonna and I. Shorty’s having a veggie burger was actually my idea.” Waverly seemed very proud of that last statement. It did explain a whole lot about the amount of time that both Earp women spent in the bar.

Wynonna suggested that the three stay there for a while and drink, maybe play some pool. Waverly was quick to shut her down and Wynonna seemed to take it incredibly well. The three parted ways, Wynonna heading to the bar and Nicole and Waverly headed back to the apartment. They made their way down the sidewalk hand-in-hand, stealing silent looks back and forth.

“You know Ms. Earp, I would very much like to take you on a real date.”

“I would very much like to go on a real date with you Ms. Haught. Where would you like to go?”

Nicole thought for a minute and then her face lit up.

“I know exactly what I want to do. But you’re gonna need better shoes.” She gestured down to Waverly’s sandals. 

“What is your brilliant idea?”

Nicole grinned and winked at her girlfriend.

“It’s a surprise.”


	20. Chapter 20

Once back at the apartment, Nicole instructed Waverly to change into jeans and “sturdy” shoes. She really didn’t want to give her idea away. Plus, she needed Waverly out of her apartment for long enough for her to make a couple phone calls. She found the number she was looking for and quickly dialed it. 10 minutes later, everything was set. 

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

Nicole quickly changed and was sliding her boots on when Waverly came through her front door. A few moments later, she popped her head in the bedroom doorway.

“Are you ready to go baby?”

“I sure am.”

Nicole stood up off the bed and followed the brunette back towards the door, snagging her Stetson off her desk. She slid it on as they reached the apartment door and Waverly stopped in her tracks. She bit her lip as she stepped closer to Nicole, sliding her arms around her neck and Nicole felt a shiver run down her spine. She could think of a million things she wanted to do to Waverly right now, but she knew it would have to wait.

“Waves, we gotta go. I know you like the hat. And I promise you can pull it off me later.”

Waverly pouted up at her, but quickly conceded and spun back towards the door. They made their way down to where Nicole’s SUV was parked, where Nicole held the door open for Waverly before hopping in behind the wheel.

“You’re really not going to tell me where we are going?”

“Nope. I thought about blindfolding you too.”

“Maybe later.” Waverly winked at her and Nicole’s insides wound tightly. The things that woman did to her were unfair. 

They reached the outskirts of town in no time and Nicole turned down a small road just outside the city limit. They followed it until it opened up into a large pasture. Nicole followed the road until it ended in front of an old barn. Waverly eyed her curiously as they climbed out and an older gentleman walked out of the barn and toward Nicole. 

“Hello Ms. Haught.” He extended a hand which Nicole happily shook. 

“Hello again Scott. Is everything ready?” 

“Sure is. It's all waiting for you in the barn. The trail starts about 30 yards out the back and heads out that way.” He pointed out towards a wooded mountain. “I sent you the map earlier. You think you girls can handle it without a guide?”

“I think so sir.”

“Alright then, you girls have fun. There is an emergency radio in one of the packs if you get into any trouble. I’ll be back down once you get back.”

Nicole nodded and took Waverly’s hand as the man walked towards a set of stairs running up the side of the barn. As they walked towards the barn door, Waverly grinned up at Nicole.

“So we are going on a hike?”

“Not exactly.” 

Nicole pushed the barn door open and a familiar smell hit her. She felt her smile get bigger as she led Waverly towards the side of the barn separated into stalls. The smaller girl squealed when she saw what Nicole had in store for them. 

“A horseback ride? Really?” 

Nicole nodded as she opened the stall doors, leading the two horses that had already been saddled out.

“You do know how to ride a horse right?”

“Of course I do. It’s just been a long time.”

“It's just like riding a really big bike.”

Waverly laughed at this as Nicole led the horses outside. Once the brunette had caught up to her, she helped the smaller woman onto her horse and adjusted her stirrups. After she was satisfied with this, she mounted her own horse. Once she was sure they were all set, they headed off through the back pasture towards the trail.

“I gotta say that this was not what I expected when you asked me on a date.” 

“I’m full of surprises.” She shot a wink over her shoulder at Waverly and pointed to the saddlebags. “The ride isn’t the only surprise.” 

They followed the trail for a few miles, seeming to be climbing a slow incline. Waverly had lived here her whole life and still wasn’t 100% sure where the trail was leading. When the trees finally opened up, Nicole heard the smaller woman gasp. 

“Nicole, this...this is beautiful. How did you know about this place?”

They had come out into a clearing that ran out to the edge of a cliff. From there, you could see all of Purgatory and a large chunk of the Ghost River Triangle. 

“I actually ran across it when I first moved to the city. I was looking for something to do with my time and I thought about volunteering to help with the horses. I even talked to Scott about it a couple times, but Shae wasn’t exactly excited about the idea.” Nicole shivered at the very mention of her name. Her evil ex was still behind bars, but she didn’t want to think about what lay ahead of her. 

They had stopped their horses near a small grove of trees jutting out into the clearing. They were only a dozen yards or so from the edge of the cliff. Nicole watched Waverly walk towards the edge while she was unpacking everything from the saddlebags. Scott had really come through for her. She tossed the faded blanket onto the grass halfway between the horses and the edge and unloaded her arms. After a couple minutes, Waverly returned.

“Nicole! This is so sweet. How did you manage to get all this?” She had sat down beside Nicole on the blanket and gestured to the array of containers.

“Well, all the food in Styrofoam containers came from the diner. The wine came from Shorty’s. Oh, and this” she opened a Tupperware containing peach cobbler, “came from Scott’s wife Dora. I called in a couple favors.” She smiled down at Waverly, proud that she could shock the brunette. 

“I love it. Thank you baby.” Nicole gladly accepted the kiss from Waverly and whispered back “you’re welcome” as the kiss deepened. 

They finally broke apart trying to catch their breath. Nicole handed Waverly a fork and they dug into the food in front of them. They ate in silence, watching as the last bits of sunlight started slipping from the sky. They were soon joined in the clearing by dozens of fireflies. Waverly giggled when one landed on the top of Nicole’s head and her laughter was infectious. Soon, they were leaned into each other, laughing uncontrollably. 

When the laughter finally subsided, Nicole cleared up what was left of the food and grabbed the extra blanket off Waverly’s horse. She wrapped the blanket around them after she returned to her spot. 

“I’ve wanted to come out here for a while. I’m really glad I decided to do it with you.” 

“Me too baby.”

They stayed curled up together, watching the fireflies dance and talking easily. Nicole didn’t think that she had ever been this happy. Her heart was soaring and she didn’t know if it would ever come down. Soon, they fell into a comfortable silence and Nicole was pretty sure that Waverly was almost asleep nuzzled up next to her. She kissed the top of her head and adjusted her position a little. 

“Okay baby, let’s get back home. We can come back whenever you want. But I don’t want to be out when it gets dark outside.” 

Once they had both gotten off the ground and stretched, Nicole folded the blankets and put them back in place. She let Waverly take the lead this time, content to watch the brunette sitting at home in the saddle. Going downhill most of the way, the journey didn’t seem to take a whole lot less time. The little light they had was fading and Nicole was starting to wish that she had thought to grab a flashlight or a lantern. Maybe next time. 

There was so much that Nicole wanted to share with Waverly. The feel of being on the back of a horse, exploring nature, was just one of them. Maybe she should get back with Scott about volunteering. She would have to make a point to call him in the next couple days about it. For now, she was just happy to be back on a horse watching the steady sway of the woman on the horse in front of her.

By the time they reached the pasture behind the barn, the moon was out and Nicole noticed a light on over the barn door. She knew Scott would probably want to get the cooldown process started as soon as possible. They dismounted before leading their respective horses inside. Scott was already in the barn putting out hay for them. He smiled at them and made small talk for a few minutes before assuring Nicole that, yes, he could handle the horses. She did want to stay to help, but she was ready for part two of their date. 

Once climbing back into the SUV, Nicole leaned over to kiss Waverly softly before starting up the vehicle. As they drove down the dirt road, Waverly played with the radio before finally discovering a song that she exclaimed was one of her favorites before turning it up and singing along. She was so in awe of the smaller woman. Even the small things, like the way that she seemed to sing with her whole body, made Nicole fall further and harder for her. 

Once they made it back to the highway, Nicole turned back towards town and headed towards the apartment. She hoped Waverly would like the second half of the date as much as the first. Though she had loved the horseback ride, this part of the date would definitely be a whole lot more comfy. She smiled over at a still singing Waverly and reached across, taking her hand. The feel of the brunette’s fingers intertwining with hers was heaven and she settled back in her seat. 

They pulled into a parking spot back at the apartment and Waverly hopped out quickly. She was around on Nicole’s side of the vehicle before the redhead could even make it out her door. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girls waist and lifted her off her feet.

“So what would you like to do now?”

“Now” she smiled down, “I want you to go up to your apartment and get comfy. I am going to go take a quick shower and grab a couple things, then I will come get you.” 

“But I want to go home with you.” Waverly whined as Nicole sat her back on her feet. 

“I know baby. But it’s just for a little while. I promise it will be worth it.”

Waverly must have decided that a change in tactics may be best, as she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and reminded Nicole of her previous promise. “You told me I could take your hat off of you.”

“You still can. Promise. Just be patient.”

Waverly finally conceded and they made their way into the apartment building. Again, they walked hand-in-hand until they reached the front door to the Earp apartment. She kissed Waverly’s forehead and waited in the hallway until the door was closed. Once in her own apartment, she rapidly shed her clothes and hopped in the shower. She was already missing the brunette and wanted to have her back in her arms as son as possible. 

She had just stepped out of the shower when she heard her phone ringing from where she had tossed it on the bed. When she checked the caller ID and saw that it was Nedley, she remembered that she had promised to call him back. She wrapped her towel tighter around her and sat on the edge of the bed before she answered.

“Hey Sheriff. I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I was out with Waverly and time just got away from us. I did want to apologize for how I acted towards you. Therapy is just a sensitive subject, but I know it is probably for the best. I’m just ready to get back to work.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, but an apology is not necessary. I’d probably have acted the same way. But Nicole, I’m not calling about that. I’m calling with news about your case. Nicole, I did the best I could, but...Shae was just released. We are still pursuing the case with everything we have, but we can not hold her any longer without additional charges. We do have a protective order in place and we will be stationing someone outside your apartment building at all times. According to her attorney, she has no intention of contacting you again in any way, but I thought that you should know.”

Nicole’s heart was in her throat and she didn’t realize that she hadn’t spoken until Nedley asked if she was still there. She cleared her throat before confirming that she was indeed still on the line. She thanked him for the information and the extra measures to protect her, but she did have one small request for him. 

“Nedley, I need you to make sure that Waverly is protected too. I didn’t want to drag her into this, but she is in it nonetheless. Shae has plenty of money to buy whatever and whoever she wants.” The thought of hitmen and black market deals swirled in her mind, but she knew that she was probably being paranoid. Better safe than sorry. 

“I’ll get right on it. Tell Waverly hi for me. Chrissy keeps telling me I need to invite you two over so the four of us can have dinner. I can’t cook for shit though.” This caused Nicole to chuckle a little. She was still uneasy about the news, but was trying to keep herself from spiraling. 

“Tell you what, you figure out a time and I will figure out the food. Deal?”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll see ya for that eval tomorrow. And Nicole?”

“Yes sir?”

“Just...stay safe okay?”

“I will. Promise.”

This seemed to be good enough for Nedley. They said their goodbyes and Nicole disconnected. She was still really uneasy about the news, but she still had the second half of her date to get through. She sat on the bed, mulling over if she should tell Waverly. She had promised herself that she would be 100% honest with her girlfriend, but she knew that this was not what Waverly needed to hear. She decided that it would be best just to wait until after the date to disclose the new information.

Nicole wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting on the bed. When her phone dinged indicating a new text message, it caused her to jump. She checked it and saw that it was from Waverly.

Waves: So, I’ve showered and I’m in comfy clothes. How much longer do I have to wait until you come sweep me off my feet?

Shit. She was still sitting on her bed in a towel. She shot a quick message back telling Waverly to give her five more minutes and she would be on her way. After grabbing a pair of boxers and some sweatpants, she pulled on a baggy hoodie and checked her reflection in the mirror. She definitely looked comfy. She tucked her phone into her pocket and grabbed a blanket off out of her closet. Just as promised, she was knocking on Waverly’s door five minutes later. 

When the door swung open, a hand reached out and pulled her in. She was not expecting to be standing face-to-face with Wynonna, but wasn’t entirely surprised. 

“How’s it going Haught Stuff? Long time, no see.”

“Wynonna, I’ve seen you multiple times in the last 24 hrs.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She spun around and walked back towards the couch, where Doc was perched flipping through the TV channels. 

“Hey Doc.”

“Hello Nicole.”

His eyes seemed to dart to just over Nicole’s shoulder as something solid hit her back. The panic lasted only a millisecond before she realized that it was just Waverly jumping on her back. 

“So what are we doing now baby?” She had her head resting on Nicole’s shoulder. 

“That is a surprise. Are you ready to go?” The brunette nodded. 

“Okay, let's go then.” With Waverly still on Nicole’s back, they said goodbye and headed out the door. Once in the hallway, Waverly slid down to her feet and Nicole kissed her forehead before taking her by the hand. She led them to the far end of the hallway to where a door sat off away from all the others. Waverly looked at her questioningly, but didn’t ask. Nicole led her through the door and into a stairwell. After climbing a couple flights of steps, they reached the top.

“Baby, I hate to burst your bubble, but that door is locked.”

“Well, sorta.” Nicole pulled the door inward before pulling up sharply on the handle. The door swung wide open.

“Mrs. Haught, isn’t that illegal?”

“Only if you rat me out.”

She pulled the brunette out into the open night air and led her around the corner. Before them sat an open area of rooftop that looked on the rest of the city. Nicole laid the blanket down and stretched out, reaching out to Waverly. The smaller woman laid down beside her and curled up. Nicole had spent several nights up here just watching the stars since she moved in. She never thought that she would be sharing it with someone else. 

As they lay looking up at the stars, they took turns pointing out different constellations to each other. Nicole quickly realized that Waverly knew a whole lot more about not only which constellations were which, but also how they got their names. She was happy just listening to Waverly talk. After a while, she caught herself spending more time looking at the brunette than at the stars. She could spend every night like this. 

Little did they know, as the two of them lay comfortably watching the stars, there was someone else watching them.


	21. Chapter 21

The early morning sunshine broke through the blinds, painting little lines on the bed. Nicole stretched, but snuggled back down when she felt a hand softly ball in her tshirt. She smiled down at the sleeping brunette beside her and thought back to the night before.

They had spent over 2 hours curled up on the roof watching the stars. Nicole had been so happy to just have her angel beside her that she couldn’t even remember all that they had talked about. Waverly had regaled her with tales of the trouble that Wynonna used to get into, what it was like growing up on the Homestead, and some of the more colorful bar stories from her time at Shorty’s. Nicole had shared some stories of her own about helping out with the horse and life with hippy parents. 

The peace over the city had enveloped them and she had not been happy when she realized that they would have to disentangle themselves to get down out of the cool night air. She had brought the beautiful brunette home and they had spent the rest of the night curled up together in her bed. Soft skin against hers had been her undoing and she had known, without a doubt, she was madly in love with Waverly Earp. 

Now, she lay watching Waverly sleep peacefully and she wanted nothing more than to spend another whole day with her. But today was the day of her psych eval. A message from Nedley late last night had advised that she would need to be in no later than noon. It was only 9 AM, but Nicole was still a little anxious to get it over with. She laid in bed for a couple more minutes before sliding out and heading to the kitchen. She fed Calamity before starting a pot of coffee. 

“I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore Calamity. She makes me feel so grounded and yet sends me flying so high. She’s so amazing. I think we should keep her.” Nicole was squatted down by the cabinets, petting the kitten as she whispered to her. 

After a few more minutes, she straightened up and ran her fingers through her tousled hair. She didn’t want to wake the sleeping woman in her bed, but she figured they could both do with a good breakfast. She dug through the fridge and sighed. She had managed to pick up a few vegan options for Waverly but still wasn’t 100% sure what to make. She flipped through some of the saved recipes on her phone and finally decided on a simple tofu scramble. The pictures of the dish in the recipe looked delicious and she figured she had enough time.

With all of the ingredients out on the counter, Nicole started cooking. The smells that were wafting through the apartment were starting to make her stomach rumble. Calamity was passing her time by making slow circles around Nicole’s feet. She did a quick check of the time on her phone, then tucked it back into the pocket of her sweatpants. She was finishing up breakfast when she heard muffled footsteps coming from the bedroom.

A smile crept up her face, but she didn’t turn around. She had just plated e when she felt two arms go around her waist.

“Good morning beautiful. I was trying not to wake you until I finished breakfast. But it seems you’re right on time.” She turned in the smaller woman’s arms, holding out a plate.

“Is that tofu? You made me a vegan breakfast? Baby...you didn’t have to. I could have just grabbed some oatmeal or something.” She took the plate from Nicole and stood on tiptoes to kiss her cheek. 

Nicole grabbed the other plate of the counter and pulled a couple forks from a drawer. After setting this down, she poured a couple cups of coffee and set them on the table as well. She finally returned with some sugar and almond milk. 

“I thought you might like some coffee.” Nicole mixed some of the sugar and almond milk into her coffee and passed them to Waverly. She sat watching the other woman make her coffee, in awe of how anyone could be this radiant after just getting up.

“This looks delicious baby. Thank you for cooking for me.” Nicole smiled over her coffee cup at the stunning woman in front of her. 

“You are very welcome baby. I just hope it tastes as good as it looked in the recipe.” On that note, they both dug in, content in each other’s company.

Once the food was finished, Waverly helped Nicole clean up before they both headed back to the bedroom to get dressed. Waverly had had the wherewithal to swing by her apartment last night and grab a change of clothes. Nicole knew that Wavery had work today, but was not happy about it. She had agreed to drop Waverly off at work before heading in for her eval. It was on the way and she was not going to miss out on any chance she had of spending time with the captivating brunette.

They both changed, Waverly into one of her Shorty’s crop tops and a pair of tight jeans, and Nicole into a uniform shirt and a pair of jeans. She knew that she could not go back to work until after the eval, but she still had hope. She grabbed her uniform pants and hung them over the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen. While Waverly headed to the bathroom to fix her hair, Nicole settled for running a comb through hers and calling it good. Ever since she had cut it shortly after leaving Shae, it had taken little upkeep. 

Once they were both ready to go, Nicole locked up and they made their way downstairs. The sun was out and Nicole almost wished that she had offered to walk Waverly to work instead of drive her. Maybe once she was finished with her evaluation, she could find something to do outside until Waverly was off work. Maybe she would go back out and see Scott. 

She kept trying to push the information that she received last night out of her head. It was kind of hard to do, though, when she noticed the car with an obvious plain clothes cop sitting behind the wheel. She knew she had to tell Waverly. She kept telling herself that she had to tell her. Especially if there was going to be patrol monitoring her. She sucked in a deep breath and started up the engine. 

“Hey baby, I gotta talk to you about something.” Nicole couldn’t bring herself to look at Waverly, but saw the smaller woman turn slightly in her seat. “Sheriff Nedley called last night before I met you at your apartment. I didn’t want to ruin the night, so I kept it to myself. But...you deserve to know. I just don’t want you to panic or anything.” The more she talked, the higher and faster her voice became. Finally, she dropped the bomb. “They released Shae last night.”

Silence seemed to fill every inch between them and Nicole was trying her best not to fidget in her seat when Waverly finally spoke.

“Okay. So what does that mean for us?”

Nicole wasn’t sure exactly how to answer, but she was very glad that Waverly seemed to be taking this a whole lot better than she expected. After a beat, she glanced at the brunette out of the corner of her eye.

“It just means that there might be some extra patrol roaming around. Nedley has assured me that they are still pursuing her with everything that they have. And her attorney is saying that she has no intention of contacting me in any form. There is a protective order in place just in case though. And I have asked that there be extra surveillance on you as well. I honestly just want this to be over. And you to be safe.” She reached across and laced her fingers with Waverly’s. She felt the smaller woman squeeze her hand softly and she was honestly glad they were almost at Shorty’s. She just wanted to be able to look into the smaller woman’s eyes and know that she was okay.

She pulled up out front a couple minutes later and turned to Waverly once the car was in park. She pulled her hand to her lips and kissed it softly before making eye contact.

“Are you sure you are okay baby? I didn’t want to scare you. You do deserve to know. I know I should have told you last night, but…” She had felt her eyes drop lower, but looked up again when she felt Waverly’s hands cup her face.

“Baby, I will be okay. I want to know that you are okay. You’ve already been through so much. I wish you would have told me last night, but I understand why you didn’t.” Soft lips connected with hers and she melted into them. It was over all too quickly and she rested her head against Waverly’s. 

“I don’t know what I would do without you Waves.” She pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before reaching for the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you in.” They both hopped out and Nicole followed Waverly into the bar. She just wanted to make sure that the younger woman was safe. It had nothing to do with the building anxiety about the evaluation. At least that is what she was telling herself as she walked up to the bar and leaned against it, watching Waverly head to the back. She knew that she needed to get going, but figured she could wait a couple more minutes. She flagged down a waitress and ordered a cappuccino to go. By the time it was ready, Waverly had reappeared out of the back. She walked up to where Nicole was leaning and looked up at her questioningly. 

“I thought you’d be gone by now.” Nicole held up the cappuccino that had been sat in front of her only moments before. “I decided to get something to give me a little extra kick in the pants before I go in for the eval. Totally not putting off going to the station.” Waverly quirked an eyebrow at her but didn’t push her. 

“Okay baby. Well, enjoy your coffee. Tell Nedley I say hi.” She waved over her shoulder at Nicole as she walked to the other end of the bar to help a customer. Nicole watched her for just a moment longer, sipping on her coffee, before turning towards the door. She had to face this. This is what she wanted. She had already made peace with the idea of therapy. Then why was she so anxious?

She climbed behind the wheel and shot a quick text to Nedley to let him know that she was on her way. She started up the car and headed towards the station without waiting for a reply. She knew Nedley would be there. Worse case scenario, she had to wait on the eval. 

When she pulled up to the station, she parked close to the front and sat in the car sipping on her coffee. She checked her phone and saw that Nedley had text her back. 

Nedley: He is here and ready for you. I will see you shortly.

Guess it was now or never. She had been ready to get this over with, but she knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She got out and locked the door, throwing her empty coffee cup away at the trash can by the front door. When she pulled open the door and was hit with a wash of cool air, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and headed towards Nedley’s office.

“Hey Sheriff.” She leaned into his doorway and plastered on her best smile.

“Hi Nicole. Are you ready to get this thing over with? He is set up in the interrogation room. Most private place we had.” Nicole was sure that he had seen her face fall a little bit. “You can take your time Nicole.”

“No sir. I want this over with. I’ll come see you when it’s over?”

“Alright.”

Nicole headed off towards the interrogation room. It wasn’t lost on her that she would be back in the last place she had seen Shae. Her stomach dropped a little, but she picked up her pace until she was standing right outside the door. Now or never. She pushed through the door.

The man sitting at the table looked up at her with kind eyes and it took her a second to readjust her perception. She had expected some bored looking government worker who was just ready to leave. Instead this guy looked calm and comfortable as he set out some papers on the table. Nicole sat down in the chair across from him and spread her hands on the table. “So, what do I need to say or do to come back to work?” The man actually chuckled a little before setting back in his chair.

“Right to the point aren’t you? Well, I tell you what, I’ll make this as quick and painless as I can.” She shuffled the papers around one last time before settling on the first question. They went through the basics of what had happened, how Nicole was coping, etc. Nicole had managed to calm herself substantially and was happy to see that most of the questions were pretty light considering the subject. Before long, they seemed to have covered most of the questions. Nicole glanced down at her watch, surprised to see that she had already been here for almost an hour. 

“Okay Ms. Haught, just a couple more questions. One being, how do you feel about the fact that Shae is currently walking free until trial?”

Nicole’s mouth went dry. Of course he would ask how she felt about it. She wasn’t even sure anymore. It terrified her. But not just for her safety, but for Waverly’s. But how was she supposed to tell this man that she was afraid and him still let her come back to work. She wrung her hands under the table and averted her eyes. After a couple deep breaths, she settled on the truth. 

“It is a little unnerving. I trust the system to do what it is supposed to, but I don’t trust her. Sheriff Nedley has assured me though that all precautions are being taken. And I will not let her stop me from doing what I have sworn to do, protect the people of this town.” The last bit had come out slightly breathy and Nicole had to remind herself to take a breath. Her heart was in her throat and she was sure the man across from her could see it. He just smiled at her softly and wrote something down on the paperwork that he had been working on throughout the questioning.

“Okay Nicole, I think I have everything I need to make my assessment. One final question. How would you feel if my report required that you attend therapy in order to come back to work?”

Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat and just nodded softly before finally answering. “I’ll go.” He smiled at her again before extending his hand across the table to her. 

“It has been a pleasure speaking with you Nicole. I will have the report typed up and filed by the end of the day.” Nicole shook his hand firmly before getting up to leave. The urge to try and read something, anything, that he had written on the papers in front of him struck her, but she resisted. Instead, she strode to the door and out it quickly. Her first stop was to the breakroom, where she grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and drank down half of it in one go. She took a couple steadying breaths and turned to head towards Nedley’s office, where she sat down in a chair in front of his desk.

“So, how did it go?”

“Okay I guess. He said that he would have the report in by this afternoon. So I guess now we will wait.” She ran her fingers absentmindedly along the seam of her jeans while she spoke. Nedley just nodded.

“Well, I sure am ready to have you back Nicole.”

“I'm ready to be back sir.” She smiled genuinely back at him and was rewarded with a small smile from the Sheriff. The moment was broken as Lonnie suddenly appeared in the doorway.

“Sheriff, call just came in. Someone is reporting shots down at Shorty’s.” 

Nicole wasn’t sure how she managed to get from the Sheriff’s office to her SUV. All she could remember was the sound of Nedley calling after her and the one solid thought in her mind.

Get to Waverly.


	22. Chapter 22

A soft rain had started while Nicole had been inside the station, but she didn’t let it slow her down at all. Her heart was in her throat and she knew that she really needed to wait on the officers that were actually on duty. And had Waverly been anywhere else in the world that day, she might have. But this couldn’t wait. Her mind was already racing with scenarios of what could have happened. She kept trying to tell herself that it was a report of shots fired, not of any injuries. Granted, she also hadn’t stuck around enough to ask if there were any injuries. 

She made it to Shorty’s in record time, barely getting the car in park before she was out of it and headed for the door. A thought flickered in the back of her mind: if someone was in there with a gun, she was not equipped to handle it. No kevlar, no backup. She stopped with her hand on the wood of the door before heading back to the car and grabbing her service revolver out of the back. She had just cleared the door when she heard the sirens of her fellow officers rounding the corner. 

Once inside, Nicole immediately heard yelling coming from the back of the bar. The bar itself seemed to have emptied out, with only a couple people standing by the door waiting to see what was happening. One of the gentlemen pointed in the direction of the yelling and Nicole headed that direction. Before she could make it to the bar, she heard the door swing open and her name whispered harshly from behind her. There stood Nedley in the doorway, beckoning her back. She tried to put everything that she was feeling into one look and he seemed to understand. He made his way quickly to her. 

“Nicole, I know you’re worried but we can’t go running in all half-cocked. I’m sure she is okay.”

Suddenly, the yelling from the back stopped and they both turned at the sound of footsteps coming their way. They were both ready to fire but Nicole felt all the air leave her body when she realized who those footsteps belonged to.

“Hey guys….whoa whoa whoa…” Waverly took a step back and her eyes went wide when she saw the guns laying naked in the hands of her girlfriend and the sheriff. 

Nicole realized that she was still holding her gun and quickly laid it on the bar. It wasn’t until then that she realized that she was shaking. She placed her hands on the bar and took a deep breath, but almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her back. 

“Baby, are you okay?” She didn’t answer, but turned quickly and pulled Waverly into her arms. In an attempt to hide her tears, she buried her face into Waverly’s hair and breathed out slowly. When she finally felt the shaking start to subside, she loosened her hold on Waverly and finally spoke.

“I heard there were shots fired...I just had to make sure you were okay. What happened?” Waverly’s eyes flicked just past Nicole’s shoulder and Nicole was brought back to reality. She realized she was still holding onto Waverly and she cleared her throat, taking a step back. Nedley stepped up beside her and she remembered that this was information he needed as well. 

“Guys, it's okay really. We handled it. There was some drunk in here earlier who fired a shot off into the wall behind the bar. Shorty chased him off.” Waverly seemed to be incredibly unfazed by what had occurred. She seemed to anticipate the next question and continued. “I didn’t get a good look at the guy. Maybe ask Shorty? He chased him out with a bat. The crowd was pretty thick tonight, but they cleared out pretty fast after the shot.” Nedley jotted a couple things down in the notebook he had pulled from his pocket. Once he was done, he nodded at both girls and turned to walk over to the people that Lonnie had corralled by the door. Nicole watched him walk away before turning back to Waverly.

“Baby, are you sure you are okay?” She reached out and pulled her girlfriend to her. She knew that Waverly was here safe in her arms, but something still made her uneasy. Waverly rested her head on her chest and smiled up at her.

“I promise I’m okay Nic. Are you okay? You were shaking earlier…” Her expression had changed to one of worry as she stared up into Nicole’s eyes. Nicole was silently scolding herself for losing control that badly. Maybe she did need to take a little more time off work. 

“I’m okay now. I was just afraid something had happened to you. I figured you would have been the one behind the bar.” Nicole watched as Waverly’s expression changed and she bit her lip, breaking eye contact.

“Um...I kinda was. But I’m okay, I promise.” Nicole could tell that the brunette was putting on her best smile, but she wasn’t fooled. She stared down at her for a moment, collecting her thoughts before she finally kissed the smaller woman’s forehead and took a step back.

“I’m not gonna push, but you should probably tell Nedley that. I’m sure he's gonna have some questions for you once he is done with all of those guys.” She motioned over her shoulder at the customers that Nedley and Lonnie were questioning. “But, in the meantime, I will wait with you. Think you could find us a couple cups of coffee?” 

“Coming right up!” Waverly bounced behind the bar to where the coffee maker sat and started pouring a couple cups. Nicole settled herself into a booth in the corner, watching as Waverly made her way towards her with their coffee. From where she sat, she could keep an eye on where Nedley was currently talking to the customers and still be out of the way. She surveyed the rest of the bar, noticing for the first time the littering of broken bottles and spilled drinks. There was even a scattering of fries around a couple of the booths. She couldn’t say she was surprised that people had cleared out that quickly.

Waverly slid into the booth beside her and cuddled up to her as she took the first sips of her coffee. She leaned her head back and took a deep breath. She could not help but want to just shut everything out and be with the woman beside her. She was unable to hold her feelings in any longer and she felt tears start to slide down her face. She just kept telling herself that her angel was safe. 

She wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence, just soaking up each other’s presence while sipping their coffee. Eventually, the sheriff made his way over to the table followed closely by Shorty. Nicole sat up a little straighter and wiped her eyes. 

“Okay Waverly, is there anything else that you can think of before we get out of here?” The sheriff leaned against the edge of the table as he spoke. Waverly pulled herself closer to Nicole and shook her head. 

“I think I told you everything Nedley. I was wiping down the bar when the shot was fired. I didn’t get a good look at the guy amongst all the commotion. Pretty sure the bullet is still embedded in the wall behind the bar.” All heads turned to look at the bar and Nicole noticed the small hole for the first time. 

She couldn’t help herself. She slid out of the booth and walked slowly towards the bar. Her eyes never left the hole as she walked behind it. She felt her blood run cold. Based on the height that it had struck the wall, the bullet would have just missed Waverly if the shot had been fired directly at her. She was starting to think that this wasn’t just a random shot fired from a drunk redneck who lost his temper. She looked back to where Waverly stood with Nedley and Shorty, all watching her curiously.

“Baby, what is it?” Nicole opened her mouth to answer Waverly, but instead turned to Nedley.

“Sheriff, I think you need to have someone examine this. I think the bullet is still in there.” Nedley nodded and walked towards the door, talking quickly to Lonnie. Nicole figured he was telling her to call in the local CSI. Once he had finished speaking, Lonnie headed towards the door and Nedley finally turned and made eye contact. He smiled and seemed to open his mouth to say something, but closed it again. Instead, he nodded one last time before he headed out the door behind Lonnie.

“Listen kiddo, I still have a few more things to go over with with the sheriff. I’m probably gonna shut the bar down for the rest of the day anyways. Why don’t you head on home? I can clean up here.” Nicole whipped her head around and looked back to where Waverly and Shorty were standing. 

“If you’re sure Shorty, I think I will take you up on it.” She turned back towards Nicole and smiled. “Take me home?”

“Yes ma’am. I would love to.” She couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face. She met Waverly halfway to the door and the smaller woman gave her a quick kiss before pointing towards the back of the bar. “I gotta go grab my stuff and I will be right back.” Nicole kissed her back quickly and nodded. She watched as Waverly took off towards the back and felt her heart swell. She had known Waverly for such a short time, yet she was absolutely certain that she had never felt like this about anyone. The noticed her gun still laying on the bar and walked over to snag it.

When Waverly finally reappeared, she was all smiles and if Nicole didn’t know any better, she would have said that it had been just another day for Waverly. She followed the younger girl out the door, snagging her hand along the way. Nicole let go once they reached her SUV and she unlocked the door before making her way to the back, safely tucking her gun away. When she climbed in the drivers side, she was greeted with a kiss. There were still thoughts that kept nagging in the back of her mind, but she tried her best to push them away. She just wanted to enjoy her time with the beautiful brunette.

“Let’s go home baby.”


	23. Chapter 23

They pulled up outside the apartment and were inside in no time. Nicole had been biding her time since they had left the bar, but once they were inside her apartment, Nicole couldn’t wait any longer. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and lifted her off her feet. She held her tightly to her and walked towards the bedroom. Waverly seemed to have gotten the hint and wrapped her legs around Nicole, nuzzling her face into her neck. Nicole carried her until she reached the bed. She turned and sat down, effectively holding Waverly on her lap. She held onto the smaller girl tightly and fought back the second wave of tears. 

She felt Waverly begin to place soft kisses down her neck and she sighed into the feeling. She felt her tug softly on her collar as she made her way across her collar bone. She then turned and kissed her way back up to her ear and hummed softly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Waverly lifted her head and looked at her. 

“I’m glad I am too baby. But are you okay? You were really shaken up back there. Did the evaluation not go well?" With everything going on, she completely forgot about the evaluation. It had only been less than two hours since it had finished, but it seemed like a lifetime away.

"The evaluation went well i think. The guy wasn't what I expected. He was really nice. He asked how I felt about therapy.” Waverly’s eyebrows shot up questioningly, but she stayed silent, so Nicole continued. “I told him I would go. That I just want to get back to work. After what just happened though, maybe I should rethink that.” Nicole couldn’t help but let her gaze fall from Waverly’s, but looked back up when she felt soft fingers tracing her jaw line.

“Baby, it’s okay. With everything that has been going on lately, you have every right to be uneasy.”

“I don’t know how you aren’t more shaken. Someone shot at you today Waverly.” The brunette shook her head and smiled. “Baby, this is not the first time that someone has fired off a shot in Shorty’s. Probably won't be the last. It was just some drunk asshole who was probably trying to start a fight and got a little carried away.”

Nicole scanned Waverly’s face for a second, trying to read if she was just downplaying this or if she was genuinely unphased by what had happened. After a couple seconds it finally sunk in. Waverly, her beautiful angel, didn’t realize how close the shot had come to her. This caused Nicole to pull her closer, breathing in her intoxicating smell.

A couple minutes passed with neither of them saying anything. Nicole was almost certain that the bullet had been intended for Waverly, but someone got in the way. She didn’t want to scare her girlfriend if she was wrong though. She decided to let Nedley and the forensics unit do their jobs and to put a call in to the sheriff tomorrow morning. On second thought, maybe tonight. Her eval results should be in by late afternoon anyways. Hell, maybe he would call her. 

They held onto one another for a few more seconds before Nicole sat back slightly, pulling Waverly into a kiss. What started as a chaste kiss soon grew deeper and they were both fighting for breath by the time they broke apart. Nicole nuzzled her face into the warm skin in front of her and placed soft lingering kisses down Waverly’s neck. The moan that escaped the brunette’s mouth was almost too soft to be heard, but it stirred something inside Nicole. She had been on edge for way too long and she needed something to help bring her down. She didn’t hesitate to pull Waverly’s tshirt over her head and slowly run her fingers along every inch of exposed skin she could see. When brown eyes met blue-green ones, Nicole saw something burning there and her insides were suddenly on fire. A sly smile broke out on Waverly’s face and she pushed Nicole backwards and adjusted herself to be straddling her waist. Nicole smiled up at her and settled her hands on soft hips. 

Waverly leaned down and kissed her softly before slowly starting to unbutton her uniform shirt. Nicole watched with wrapped attention as the brunette would pop open a button and trace her finger down exposed skin before moving on to the next one. It was a painfully slow couple minutes before Waverly had managed to undo all the buttons and her shirt laid open around her. Waverly started kisses along her collarbone, but moved lower. Her lips moved slowly down, between her breast, down her abs that seemed to twitch with each point of contact, and finally to the top of her jeans. 

“Ms. Earp, mind if I ask what you think you are doing?” Waverly smiled up at her, never taking my lips more than an inch or two from bare flesh. “I’m going to show you that I am better than okay.” Her voice had taken on an almost husky edge and Nicole felt herself soaking into her boxers, enraptured by the brunette who had now popped the button to her pants open and was slowly lowering the zipper. She was so entranced that she barely heard the knock on her door.

Both women stopped and glanced towards the open bedroom door. Thank god Nicole had locked the front door. The knocking became more insistent and as Waverly reached down to get her shirt, Nicole headed to go see who it might be. Before she could reach the door, she heard yelling from the other side.

“Haught open up! I heard about what happened at Shorty’s. When I swung by there, Shorty said you were bringing Waverly home, but she’s not in our apartment.” Nicole rolled her eyes and buttoned her shirt as rapidly as she could. “Please tell me she is with you and that you guys aren’t” Nicole pulled the door open and started at Wynonna “fucking. Hey Haughty, where is she?” Nicole pointed to the bedroom doorway where Waverly was now leaning. 

“Babygirl, are you okay? I know your ginger in shining armor swooped in to save the day afterwards, but a phone call would have been nice.” Waverly had made her way to where the two older women stood just inside of the door. She wrapped her arm around Nicole’s waist and finally answered her sister.

“Wynonna, I’m fine.” The older Earp looked her up and down before smirking. "Oh yeah, I'm sure you are." Nicole looked down at the woman tucked under her arm and had to stifle a laugh. 

"Waves, I think your shirt is on inside out." 

Waverly looked down at her shirt and back up at Nicole and Wynonna, who were both smirking.

"Shut up. Both of you." 

"Whatever you say Angel Pants. Listen, you guys hungry? I was thinking of grabbing lunch at Shorty's but that's not an option anymore, so…" she looked between the two of them before continuing, "you guys want to go grab a late lunch at the diner?" Nicole knew what she wanted to say, but was surprised to hear it come out of her girlfriend's mouth.

"I think we are gonna stay in Wy. It's been a long day for both of us already." She seemed to see something in Wynonna's eyes and looked up at Nicole, searching her face before she turned back to Wynonna. "How about we get takeout? The three of us can watch a movie and relax?" Nicole knew what her body wanted, but she was thankful for every minute with the woman she loved. 

"Yeah, come on Wynonna. It'll be fun. Unless you have other plans?" Nicole tried her best to put on a convincing smile. Wynonna conceded that she did not have other plans and would love to have another takeout and movie night. She understood that Wynonna was probably just as worried as she was about the younger Earp. They eventually settled on Waverly staying back at her apartment to get everything ready while she went with Wynonna to wrangle up food. She had changed out of her uniform shirt and pulled on a hoody before heading downstairs with Wynonna.

“I’m driving Ginger Spice.”

“Fine by me.”

They both climbed into Wynonna’s truck and headed towards the diner. The elder was being suspiciously quiet since they left the apartment and Nicole was kinda worried. In the short time she had known the woman, she didn’t think she had ever seen her this quiet and broody. She knew there was something wrong, but she wasn’t sure how to go about asking. She had a lot on her mind as well, but she didn’t want to worry the already protective big sister. She was about to just give up when Wynonna finally spoke.

“I know you aren’t stupid Nicole. I also know you saw that bullethole. That shot was meant for our girl wasn’t it?” She glanced quickly to Nicole, then back to the road. Nicole knew that she could have just downplayed the worry that she had been trying to hide from Waverly, but Wynonna already had her own suspicions and she knew that she needed all the help she could get. 

“Wynonna, I don’t know for sure, but...it looked like it. I know Waverly thinks that it was just some random drunk and I would love to believe that but I don’t think so. On the other hand, I am a little on edge. So I could just be thinking zebras.”

“Haught, what the hell are you talking about?”

“You know the saying Wynonna. If you hear hoofbeats, you think horses.”

“Not zebras. Gotcha.” Wynonna pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner, but still didn’t turn to Nicole.

“Is this because of you Haught?” Nicole was a little taken aback by the question, but she knew the answer already. 

“Wynonna, I don’t know for sure. But Shae is crazy. And she has money, unless they have somehow frozen her assets, which I doubt. This is also why I asked Nedley to put the extra patrol on Waverly.” This last statement made Wynonna’s finally turn to look at her. 

“You knew this would happen!?” Nicole flinched at the anger in Wynonna’s voice and had to swallow the lump in her throat as her own anger began to rise at what the other woman was implying.

“No Wynonna! I asked for it just in case because SHAE IS CRAZY! I just wanted to make sure that Waverly would be okay. I never meant for any of this to happen. I thought she was out of my life for good.”

“Yeah, except for the being married part huh?”

Nicole sat in a stunned silence. Wynonna was right. She should have never thought that she could take the easy way out. She had always known that Shae wouldn’t just let her go. She had just been kidding herself. And she had been stupid and selfish to try to get at Shae by kissing Waverly in front of her. She had painted a target on the brunette’s back. 

Nicole felt herself start to shake again as a whirlwind of emotion flooded over her. Wynonna must have seen the inner turmoil written all over Nicole’s face because she sighed and leaned back against the seat, but didn’t say anything more. The tension on the cab of the truck was thick enough to cut with a knife, so Nicole was already ready to crawl out of her skin. 

“Look Haught, I didn’t mean to…” She reached out to Nicole as she spoke, but pulled back from her when Nicole jerked away and pressed herself firmly against the door.

“Don’t touch me Wynonna. Here” she dug her wallet from her pocket and tossed a $20 on the seat between them before opening the door, “get Waverly whatever she wants. I’m not hungry anymore. I’ll see you back at the apartment.” Without saying another word, she slid out of the truck and shut the door. They were just a few miles from the apartment if Nicole walked straight back. She took off walking back across the parking lot, trying her best to stop the shaking. 

**********

20 minutes later, Nicole was trudging down the sidewalk, trying her best to block out everything around her. She wanted so badly to be mad at Wynonna, but the little voice inside of her kept telling her that Wynonna was right. She knew Wynonna was right. This was all her fault. She had dragged Waverly into this before everything was settled with Shae. Had she really thought that she could just wait Shae out and hope a divorce would just come to her? Maybe a part of her was hoping that Shae would move on to some other naive woman who fell for her charm. That thought just made her feel worse. She would never wish that woman on anyone else. She was so lost in thought that she felt a surge of panic when her phone vibrated in her pocket. 

She pulled it out to see that it was actually 2 messages back to back, both from Waverly. Both short and simple. “Are you okay?” and “Where are you?”. Nicole was honestly surprised that she hadn’t called her, but at the same time, she was thankful. How was she supposed to explain what happened to her girlfriend? How would Waverly react when she realized that Nicole had put her in danger? She honestly thought for a moment that it may be better to just not answer her for now, but Nicole also knew that wasn’t an option. She shot back a quick message. “I’m fine. Walking home. Spend some time with your sister. I’ll see you soon.” Once the phone was safely back in her pocket, she pulled her hood up over her head and concentrated on following the cracks in the sidewalk. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear the car that had pulled up beside her. It wasn’t until she heard her name being called that she finally stopped and turned.

“What are you doing here?”


	24. Chapter 24

Nicole was taken aback. She hadn’t seen the woman standing in front of her in years. Not since the police academy. Last she heard, she was working for some high clearance black ops team somewhere in the middle east. 

“Is that really the way you greet an old friend Nic?” The stern look on the other woman’s face devolved rapidly into a grin as she made her way to Nicole and threw her arms around her. Nicole smiled and hugged her back. Once they broke apart, Nicole looked at her questioningly.

“Seriously Eliza, what are you doing here? Last I heard, you were still overseas.”

“Well, had you not completely ghosted shortly after graduation, you would know.”

Nicole did feel bad about that. She had never wanted to cut off her best friend from the academy, but Shae had always been jealous of the amount of time she spent with the blonde. Nicole had thought it would just be easier to do what she wanted and cut ties before things got too bad. 

“I’m sorry for that. It’s...complicated. You remember Shae right?” The look of utter hatred that played across Eliza’s face was enough for Nicole to know that she definitely remembered. Before she could continue, though, the blonde changed the conversation.

“I’m here as a favor Nic. I made a couple contacts while I’ve been away. One of them is on assignment here in Purgatory. He seems to think there is something fishy going on and he said it had something to do with an attempted hit made to look random.” Nicole could feel all the blood leave her face. So, someone else thinks this was a hit too? But who? Eliza said ‘he’, so it sure as hell wasn’t Wynonna. Could it really be Nedley?

“The sheriff called you in?” This brought a peal of laughter from the blonde, who just shook her head. “No, a bit above his pay grade to call in the big guns I think. No, it wasn’t local PD, but I’m sure you’ve met Dolls by now.” Nicole’s mind snapped back to her first day at the station. She remembered the dark and broody man who she had seen coming and going from the door that Nedley told her she wasn’t allowed to enter. So that meant that he worked with Wynonna. That would explain it. 

“Yeah, I’ve seen him around the station. Small world.” She was glad to know that at least someone was taking this seriously. She knew that Nedley was probably doing all that he could but…

“So how long are you in town for?”

“I’m not really sure. I still need to check into my hotel and make contact with Dolls. Then I guess I will go from there.” As much as Nicole wished that she could stay to catch up with Eliza, she knew that she ultimately had to face both Earp women. She pulled out her phone and checked to make sure that Waverly hadn’t text her back.

“I would say let's go grab a drink somewhere, but I kinda have plans tonight.” 

“Well, in that case,” she snached the phone from Nicole’s hand and began typing before handing it back. “I sent a text to my number so that you have it. I’ll text you later and we can figure out a time to catch up.” Nicole nodded and threw her arms around the blonde. “It’s really good to see you E.”

The two women parted ways and Nicole continued heading in the direction of her apartment building. She picked up the pace as she went, knowing that she needed to get back to her apartment sooner rather than later. She didn’t want to worry Waverly, but she also knew that the possibility of her walking into an empty apartment was also there. Either way, Waverly deserved an apology. This last thought caused her to pick up her pace from a brisk walk to a jog.

**********

Before long, Nicole had made it to the front of her apartment. She stopped to catch her breath in the lobby before making her way to the elevador. She could feel the small beads of sweat that had started forming under the hoodie and she knew that she really needed a shower. She hesitated once she reached her door, unsure that she was ready to face whatever she was going to find on the other side. She had checked her phone in the elevador and didn't have any new texts. Was Waverly mad or just respecting her space? Guess she was about to find out. 

She unlocked the door and pushed it open, prepared for the worst. Instead, she saw Waverly moving around the kitchen, tidying up here and there, and Wynonna on the couch flipping through Netflix. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Waverly was the first to break the stillness as she headed around the bar to Nicole.

“Listen Haught” Wynonna started, but was cut off by Waverly.

“Wynonna, I swear to god, unless an apology is about to come out of your mouth, then shut it.” Surprisingly, Wynonna closed her mouth and sat back on the couch. The younger Earp turned to Nicole. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Waves. I just...needed a little air. Did you guys already eat?”

“No, Miss Goody Goody said we had to wait on you.”

“Wynonna!”

“Sorry, sorry. But seriously, I’m starving. Can we please eat now?” Wynonna pleaded, leaning over the back of the couch. Nicole looked between them and answered before Waverly had a chance to yell at her sister again. 

“Yeah, you guys go ahead and start eating. I could really use a shower. I’ll be back out shortly.” She turned to head towards her bathroom as Waverly chastised Wynonna once again. 

**********

After a nice hot shower, Nicole was actually feeling significantly better. She made her way back out to the other two women after throwing on sweatpants and a tshirt. Wynonna was back on the couch and Waverly was wiping down the counter in the kitchen. The brunette smiled sweetly up at her as she made her way over and pulled her into her arms. She knew that her happy place was now wherever Waverly was and she placed a kiss on the top of her head. The smaller woman laid her head against her chest and whispered up at her "You okay baby?" Nicole beamed down at her "I am now." 

They stood like that for a couple minutes before parting and heading towards the couch. Wynonna was perusing the horror movies and Waverly just sighed. Nicole thought about intervening and taking the remote away from her, but she also knew they probably wouldn't agree on any other genre. 

After a little debate, they settled on Poltergeist. Nicole did love the classics. Waverly accompanied her to the kitchen, where they rounded up popcorn and sodas. Once they returned back to the couch, Wynonna pressed play and the three of them got comfy. Like always, Waverly sat in the middle cuddled up to Nicole. She had taken to keeping a spare throw blanket on the back of the couch for just such occasions. She pulled the blanket down and let it fall over the small brunette beside her. She was rewarded with a brief smile and a kiss on the cheek, before both of their attention was pulled back to the movie. 

The three of them sat curled up like this for the next two hours. A few glances were shot back and forth between Nicole and Wynonna, but neither had bothered to speak. Nicole wanted to be mad at the older brunette, but she just couldn’t. Especially when she knew she was right. And she was almost positive that she had caught Waverly on the brink of dozing off more than once. 

When the end credits finally rolled, Nicole nudged Waverly to let her off the couch. She had had one too many sodas and was in dire need of a bathroom break. She kissed the top of Waverly’s head and headed towards her bathroom as the Earp sisters searched for something else to watch. 

Once she was finished, she stopped in the bedroom doorway and watched the sisters. Apparently they were not happy with the selection on Netflix and had decided to try another streaming platform. Nicole watched as Wynonna chunked a throw pillow at Waverly when she suggested foriegn horror films. “They are all too campy.” Waverly threw the pillow back. “You would know that wasn’t true if you would try them.” Wynonna huffed and smacked Waverly one more time before settling back on the couch. “No thank you, I don’t want to have to read my movie.”

Nicole couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, which drew the attention of both of the women currently sitting on her couch. She tried her best to cover it with a cough, but she knew that she had been caught. They both turned to look at her.

“Haught Potato please tell her that no one but her cares about foriegn films.” Nicole just shrugged, drawing another huff from Wynonna. 

“I actually like foriegn films, though I haven’t really watched a whole lot of horror ones. I’m okay with whatever you guys decide honestly.” This earned a stare down from both Earps. “How about this? Why don’t you see if you can find a foriegn produced film that's in English? At least to start with. ” Both women agreed and went back to scrolling through movies. They finally settled on one and Nicole settled back in on the couch. Waverly had stretched out and now sat slouched down against the back of the couch with her feet resting on the coffee table. Before they could get the movie started though, Wynonna decided that she too needed to pee and took off to the bathroom. Once she was out of earshot, Waverly turned to Nicole. 

“Listen, I’m not the type of girl to get all jealous or go through your phone. But it kept going off while you were in the bathroom, so I glanced at it.” She pointed to the phone that was sitting on the arm of the couch. “I gotta ask or it will bother me until I do. Nicole, who is Eliza and why did she want to know if you were free tomorrow night?” She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it when Waverly started speaking again. “Is this why you have just been taking off? I trust you Nicole, I really do. You don’t owe me an explanation. I’m just afraid of losing you.” Nicole reached out and pulled her against her side. 

“Baby, I would never do anything to hurt you. Eliza is a friend from the academy. She is here...on business I guess you would say. I ran into her earlier. She wants to meet up for drinks to catch up. I would love for you to come. That is, if you would like.” Waverly grinned and buried herself into Nicole’s arms. “I would like that very much.” 

“Alright losers, let’s get this thing started.” Wynonna vaulted the couch, landing beside her sister. Waverly rolled her eyes and Nicole chuckled. Once they had pressed play, they all settled in again and a calm seemed to settle amongst them. None of them suspected that 10 minutes later, Nedley would be calling with news about Nicole’s evaluation results that might threaten that peace.


	25. Chapter 25

When her phone rang and Nicole saw it was Nedley, she stood up and walked towards her bedroom to take the call. She wasn’t worried about either woman overhearing the conversation, but she didn’t want to have to ask them to pause the movie so that she could hear. 

Once in the bedroom, she answered, albeit a little hesitantly. She knew that it was probably just about her eval, but she was still a little worried about what this call could mean. The sound of Nedley’s voice did very little to ease her nerves.

“Hey Nicole. Your evaluation came back and I thought that you might want those results as soon as I got them. They are requiring you to attend mandated therapy and take another week off work.” He let out a sigh and she could hear him shuffling papers around before he spoke again. “And honestly Nicole, after the way you ran into the bar with no backup, I agree.” Nicole felt her stomach drop. She knew she had let him down. She had come in and was immediately a problem. Maybe she should just quit. Nedley read her silence like a book. “Listen Nicole, I know it has been one thing after another since you came aboard, but I don’t regret my decision. I know you are gonna make a great officer. We….we will get you through this.” He paused for a second. Either he didn’t hear the sniffle from Nicole or he chose to ignore it. 

She finally spoke. “Thank you sir.” She was still doubting herself, but it helped to know that Nedley wasn’t regretting bringing her on. “Is there anything else that I should know about, Sheriff?” There was a pause and Nicole waited with bated breath. After what seemed like forever, he answered. 

“Actually, there might be. Nicole, it seems that there is someone in the mayor’s office who didn’t want to see you come back period. I got a phone call before I called you requesting that I pull your badge.” 

Nicole didn’t think that she breathed for a solid minute. When she did, she felt like her chest was on fire. She was happy to know that Nedley had her back, but what happened when they pushed him just a little harder. She didn’t want him jeopardizing his career for her. She said her goodbyes to Nedley and sat down on the bed. 

She was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear anyone come into the room until Waverly sat on the bed beside her. She jumped slightly, but settled when the brunette placed her hand on her thigh. “Baby, are you okay?” 

Nicole smiled down at her, but it didn’t settle her nerves. “I’m okay baby. That was Nedley. My eval results came back. They are going to let me come back, but they are requiring therapy and for me to take another week off.” She paused for a minute, gauging Waverly’s reaction. She was rewarded with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

“That’s great baby. I’m glad they are gonna let you come back in. Just keep an open mind about the therapy. I think it will really help. Plus, I can come with you if you would like.” 

Nicole pulled the brunette closer and kissed her softly. She was so happy to have such an amazing girlfriend. She leaned down and whispered in Waverly’s ear “How did I get so lucky?” 

They sat there for a few minutes just holding onto each other. Finally Waverly pulled away and reached up to run her fingers along Nicole’s jawline. Nicole gave her best smile but the smaller brunette still knew that something was bothering her. “Nic, are you okay? Did he say anything else?” 

The redhead closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. She didn’t want to worry the brunette, but she also knew that Waverly was only there to help. “Nedley said that there is someone in the mayor’s office who doesn’t want me to come back. They tried to get Nedley to yank my badge.” 

She expected Waverly to be shocked. She expected her to be sympathetic. She did not expect her to say what Nicole had been silently worrying about since she hung up the call with Nedley. “Do you think Shae has anything to do with this?” 

Nicole just shook her head and whispered a quick “I don’t know,” not meeting Waverly’s gaze. “She has always had friends in high places. I wouldn’t put it past her to go after my job. She’s already tried to go after…” Nicole paused. She may have voiced her fears to Wynonna, but she had not had that conversation with Waverly yet. She took a deep breath and continued quickly. “I think she has already gone after you. I don’t think that it was just a random drunk firing off a shot in the bar. I think someone was aiming for you and just missed due to all the bustling people. I have already asked Nedley to put extra patrol in the area. I promise baby, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Waverly didn’t say anything for a few moments before she finally met Nicole’s gaze again. The redhead could tell that she was upset, but she wasn’t ready for the tears that she saw in her girlfriend’s eyes. She wanted to pull Waverly into her arms, to hold her close and not let go. But when she reached out to her, the brunette jumped and she withdrew her hand. She felt her heart start to sink and she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to hide her disappointment. She sat back and tried to keep her voice steady when she finally spoke. “I...I’m just gonna give you some time to process.” 

She wasn’t even sure where she was going to go, but she knew that she couldn’t just sit around and wait for the inevitable. She couldn’t watch the wheels turning in Waverly’s head as she decided to break up with her. She couldn't watch the hurt that she was causing the woman she loved as it played across her beautiful face. 

“Hey Nic...what’s going on?”

Nicole was almost to the door, but she paused. She had completely forgotten that Wynonna was still camped out on her couch, probably waiting for her and Waverly to return from the bedroom. She didn’t turn, but answered over her shoulder “I just need some air.” She continued on out the door without waiting on a response. 

She had no idea where she was going, but her feet seemed to know what she needed. Before long, she was standing in front of the door to the roof. She got it open without much effort and quickly made her way to the edge. As she stared out into the night sky, she drew in a deep breath and felt the first tear fall. 

She could feel her heart in her throat and she breathed out into the night “I can’t lose her.” Her body had started to shake and she wasn’t sure how to get it to stop. She felt like everything was spinning out of control again. The world seemed to swim before her and she sat down quickly. That’s where she stayed, just staring off into the night. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there, but the sound of thunder in the distance seemed to pull her back to reality. She took another deep breath and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but was not surprised when she saw two messages, one from each of the Earps. She opened the one from Wynonna first. 

Wynonna: Hey Haughtshit, where did you run off too? Waverly said you were upset and that it was her fault. She won’t tell me anything else. Care to explain?  
Honestly, Nicole wished that she could explain it all. She thought that things were finally getting better, then it all started falling apart again. She knew that she couldn’t just not answer her though. And it’s not like she hadn’t already had this fight (sorta) with the elder Earp anyways. 

Nicole: I told her that I thought that Shae may have had something to do with the shot in the bar. She was upset. She deserves the truth. I’m giving her space. 

She pressed send and stared at her phone for a few seconds before she remembered that she still had an unread text. 

Waves: Nicole, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pull away, it's just a lot to process. 

Nicole stared down at the message and reread it over and over. It was short and sweet. Was Waverly angry? Did she want her to stay gone for a while? For all she knew, both Earps were back in their own apartment already. She had to know.

Nic: You don’t have to be sorry baby. I just thought that you deserved the truth. I didn’t mean to just drop it on you. I am sorry. I am here whenever you are ready to talk. 

This time, when she hit send, she immediately locked the phone. She wrapped her arms around herself and took another deep breath of the night air. She fought back another tear. She should never have brought Waverly into this. She deserved so much better. 

She was so lost in thought that she barely heard her phone notification go off. She picked it back up and sighed when she saw it was Wynonna. It was just a thumbs up emoji. Simple. Nicole was actually thankful for that. She locked it back and sat it back down beside her. The night was getting colder and she wished that she had grabbed a jacket. 

She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the door to the roof swing open. She turned from where she sat, ready to run. Her whole body froze when she saw the person walking towards her on the roof. Of course Waverly would find her up here. She turned back around and waited, listening to the footsteps behind her. It didn’t take long before the brunette was sitting down beside her. 

“I knew you would be up here.” Waverly laid her head on Nicole’s shoulder and the redhead smiled to herself. They sat in silence for a few moments. The silence was peaceful and Nicole knew that she didn’t have to fill it. She reached down and took Waverly’s hand before she spoke.

“I’m sorry baby.”

“Don’t be sorry. I just didn’t know how to react to what you said. But I don’t want you to feel like this is your fault. We will get through this together.” Nicole had no idea what she ever did to deserve this amazing woman in her life, but she was positive that she did not want to go another day without her. She would do anything to make sure that she never lost her. 

She pulled the brunette closer to her and kissed her forehead softly. They sat staring out into the night, watching the lightning in the distance. Nicole’s living room window faced out this way, but all she could see was a brick wall from inside the apartment. Nicole knew that Waverly was probably freezing and the rain would be here soon. But here, they were in their own little bubble. No one would bother them here. Nicole didn't think that anyone else knew how to get up here. She had never seen anyone else on the roof. 

She loosened her grip on Waverly and smiled down at her. “Let’s go back down, okay? It’s getting chilly out and I’m pretty sure that storm is coming this way. We don’t want to get caught in that.” As she spoke, she stood up and extended her hand out to Waverly. Her heart melted when the brunette smiled up at her. 

“Okay baby. I am actually kinda cold.” Waverly bowed her head almost bashfully as Nicole pulled her to her feet. Waverly took off towards the door and Nicole turned to follow. She stopped suddenly. Something in the building across the street had caught her attention. She couldn’t even place her finger on exactly what it had been. She scanned the windows and sighed. The only sign of movement was curtains in one window blowing softly with the cool night air. 

“You coming baby?” Nicole turned to see Waverly waiting patiently by the door and turned to follow her inside. Once the door was closed behind them, Nicole let out the breath that she didn’t even realize she had been holding. She couldn’t shake the itching at the back of her neck, but she picked up the pace to catch up with her girlfriend. Before long, they were back at the apartment.

Waverly stopped her at the door, tugging on her hand. “I will be back soon baby. Wynonna headed back to our apartment when I headed out to find you. Even though I didn’t have to go far.” She winked at Nicole, who smiled back at her. “I just want to go check in with her and let her know I got you back in one piece. Plus, I wanna grab a couple things. Maybe change clothes. You just go in and relax.” 

Nicole just smiled bigger, happy to know that the brunette would soon be back in her arms. “Okay baby. Just hurry back to me.” After a quick kiss, Waverly took off towards her own apartment. Nicole stood in her doorway, watching until Waverly blew her a kiss and closed the door. 

She closed her own door and strolled back into the apartment, not going anywhere in particular. She stopped in the middle of the floor and glanced around, her eyes finally settling on the TV. Wynonna must have left it on when she left. She walked over and picked up the remote off the couch and hit play. She was not expecting the volume to be blaring. Had it been that loud when she left? She turned the volume down and flopped down on the couch. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, not really paying attention to what was playing on the television. She pulled up a game to pass the time. She only looked back up when the end credits started rolling on the movie. 

She stood up and stretched, tossing her phone on the couch. How had she missed an entire movie? Then it hit her. An entire movie had played. And Waverly still wasn’t back. A sick feeling started to stir in the pit of her stomach. She took off across the apartment, not even stopping when her phone started to ring. She was soon out her door and standing in front of Waverly’s. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she reached for the door handle. She didn’t know why she was so surprised it was locked. 

She knocked, and when this did not get a response, she knocked again. Still no response. She was beginning to panic when she remembered that her phone was ringing as she was leaving the apartment. It was probably Waverly telling her that she had gotten roped into some kind of adventure with Wynonna. She rushed back to the apartment and scooped her phone off the couch, not even bothering to shut the door. 

When she unlocked it, a confused frown stretched across her face. The missed call was not from Waverly, but Eliza. She had left a voicemail and Nicole hit play. It was short and sweet. “Nicole, call me. I think I may have found something.” Eliza did sound concerned, but it would have to wait. She needed to check on Waverly. She pulled up her call history and hit the call button beside Waverly’s name. 

As the phone rang, she walked back towards Waverly’s apartment. She barely made it halfway there before she heard the sound of the ringtone she knew Waverly had put on her phone specifically for her. It sounded like it was coming from directly on the other side of the door. After several deep breaths, she tried to keep her mind from racing. Either Waverly was avoiding her or something was terribly wrong. She tried to tell herself not to think the worst as she made her way back to the apartment. She flipped off most of the lights in her apartment and settled down again on the couch. She couldn’t let herself worry. After she started flipping through channels, she heard her phone ding. It was a single text from an unknown number. Nicole felt like the whole world was spinning as she read it. 

Missing something?


	26. Chapter 26

All the air had left the room. Nicole started down at the text message and tried to make it all make sense. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the text was about Waverly. The ice water in her veins seemed to be solidifying and she couldn’t seem to get her body to move. Part of her wanted to run back to the apartment and kick the door in and search for the beautiful brunette. Another part of her was lost in a panic that left her wanting to run screaming into the night. The one thing that she was certain of was that she had to find Waverly. And she knew exactly where to start. 

The phone rang several times and she was almost certain that it was about to go to voicemail when a voice came across the other end of the line, slurred and a bit hard to hear over the loud music, but definitely there.

“What’s up Haught Pants?” Wynonna was clearly having a good time and Nicole hated to end that for her, so she tried to keep as much worry out of her voice as she could. “Have you talked to Waverly? Are you at Shorty’s? Is she with you?” Nicole’s voice picked up the more she talked. Even drunk, Wynonna clearly heard everything Nicole was trying to hide.

“Slow down Nicole. Hold on.” Wynonna stopped speaking for a few moments before it suddenly became quieter. Nicole surmised that she had stepped outside of the bar. “I haven’t talked to Waverly since I left your apartment earlier. I was just gonna go back to the apartment, but I got an offer I couldn’t refuse.” 

Nicole could hear the slight chuckle in Wynonna’s voice and she thought about asking about it, but decided against it. Her voice suddenly became serious again. “Wait, Waverly isn’t with you?” Nicole shook her head before realizing that Wynonna couldn’t see her. “No, she’s not with me. We came back to my apartment and she said that she was going to go check on you and never came back. I tried calling, but she is not answering. I can hear her phone ringing on the other side of the door, Wynonna. There was also a text…” 

Before she could finish, she was cut off by a quick “On my way” before the line was disconnected. Nicole dropped her phone on the couch, then stood up to pace the floor. She should call Nedley right? The police needed to be involved. What if Shae had something to do with this? But, on the other hand, what if Waverly really was just avoiding her again. She couldn’t blame Waverly for being hot and cold with her. That was the same way Nicole had been treating the younger Earp this whole time anyways. 

She was on her second circuit of the room when she remembered the voicemail from Eliza. She snagged her phone off the couch and quickly dialed the number, barely slowing down her pace. This time, her call was answered on the second ring.

“Nicole, I’m glad you called. I found something today that I think you might wanna know about.” Nicole really wanted to blurt out that Waverly was missing, but she bit her tongue, knowing that she couldn’t be 100% sure of that just yet. Eliza took her silence for what it was and continued. “I’m still digging into this, but it looks like a group of local bikers has been seen more and more in town. X put a little pressure on a local rat and he says that someone has paid good money for a few choice members of the group to make a “problem” go away. He wouldn’t divulge much, just that the leader BoBo was more than happy to take the money. Nicole, I don’t know if it was Shae, but I’m going to continue looking into it.” Nicole bit her lip and tried to hold back all the worry that was building up with each passing second. She finally resolved to not bring Eliza in any further if she didn’t have to. After all, she wasn’t sure that Waverly was even missing. But she couldn’t shake the urge to go kick in the apartment door rather than waiting on Wynonna to arrive. 

She ended her phone call with Eliza and sat back into the couch, closing her eyes and breathing out. Her whole body was tense and she couldn’t get it to relax. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there when she heard a hard knock on her door and someone yelling her name. She made it to the door in record time, throwing it open to reveal a panicked looking Wynonna. Before she even had time to confirm what was written all over Wynonna’s face, the brunette began to speak. “She’s not there Nicole. Her phone is there, her keys are there, everything. But she is not there. What happened Haught?” The anger in her voice seemed to be rising as she directed it all towards Nicole. The redhead put everything she had into trying to remain stoic until she saw all the color and resolve start to drain from the other woman’s body before she spoke again. “She’s gone Nicole.” Nicole looked down to avoid seeing the tears starting to fill Wynonna’s eyes. 

Nicole wasn’t sure what made her pull the brunette in front of her into a hug, but she did. Wynonna relaxed into the hug for just a brief moment before she pulled back, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. “What do we do now?” It was at that moment that things started to click for Nicole. She pulled her into the apartment and slammed the door shut, motioning Wynonna to the couch and instructing her to get Nedley on the phone. She shot a quick text to Eliza and asked her if it would be possible for her to come to her apartment. She wanted all hands on deck for this. She hated to admit it, but if this was Shae, she couldn’t be the one to pursue it. She heard Wynonna’s voice suddenly pick up in speed and volume as she told the sheriff about Waverly’s sudden disappearance. “Nedley, you listen to me, I’m not waiting 24 hrs on this one. Get your best guys and get here.” Wynonna’s face softened just a little at whatever the sheriff had said to her. “Okay Nedley, just get here fast. And check with Chrissy and see if she has heard from her.” After a couple quick goodbyes, Wynonna disconnected the call and looked back up at Nicole, who stood behind the couch.

“Nicole, I know there is something you aren’t telling me. What is it?” The redhead knew that Wynonna was serious if she had used her first name instead of one from her ever growing list of nicknames. One long, deep breath later, Nicole finally spoke. “I got a text message shortly after I realized Waverly wasn’t answering her phone. Here.” She handed her phone to Wynonna as she continued talking. “I think I knew what it meant from the beginning but I didn’t want to scare myself or you by bringing it up. Wynonna, I don’t know who’s done this, but I swear to god, I will make them pay.” The terror that Nicole had previously felt was morphing into anger, and it was showing all over her face. 

Wynonna’s mouth opened to say something, then closed, then opened again. She kept looking from the phone in her hand to Nicole, but apparently couldn’t find the words that she wanted. Nicole took a step back from the couch and let out a deep breath, trying to bring herself back down. Every nerve was on fire and she just wanted to hit something. She scanned the room, looking for a possible target when Wynonna’s voice broke her out of her thoughts.

“They are taunting you. Nedley needs to see this.” Out of everything that could have come out of the brunette’s mouth, Nicole had definitely not expected calm and rational. She took the phone that Wynonna was extending back to her and tucked it into her pocket. “I was planning on showing the sheriff when he gets here. I also called in a little back up from an old friend who is here on business. Actually, I think you might know her. She is here doing a favor for your boss.”

**********

Wynonna had made her way over to the kitchen and pulled a bottle out of the cabinet. Nicole had taken to keeping a bottle of whiskey on standby at all times. Wynonna was usually the one to find it. She grabbed glasses out of the cabinet and set them on the counter, filling them both with the amber liquid. She turned and set one on the bar and motioned to the barstool in front of it. Nicole obeyed the silent command and made her way over. The brunette soon joined her.

As they sat silently, Nicole’s phone dinged and she was relieved to see that it was a response from Eliza telling her that she was already on her way, Nedley not far behind her. Nicole turned her glass up, finishing off its content before pouring another. Wynonna slid her glass closer and Nicole silently topped it off. 

She had no idea what to say to the woman beside her. She wanted so badly to apologize. She knew that this was her fault. She was happy to have both the Earp sisters in her life, but she knew that trouble followed her wherever she went and she should not have brought them into this. After a few moments of overthinking, she was again brought back to reality by Wynonna speaking up. 

“Do you really love her, Nicole?” The redhead ran her fingers through her hair and let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Yea Wynonna, I really do. And I am so sorry I…” She stopped talking when the brunette turned on her and pointed her finger in Nicole’s face. “Listen to me Haught because I’m only going to say this once. You are the first good thing to happen to Waverly in a while. I have never seen her light up the way she does around you. And yes, the situation lately has been balls. But I would be kicking your ass right now if I in any way thought that this was your fault. So do not apologize for this. Just help me get our angel back.” Nicole didn’t comment on the way Wynonna’s voice cracked at the end and Wynonna didn’t comment on the lone tear that rolled down Nicole’s cheek. Instead, they just turned back to their drinks in a silent mutual understanding. 

It wasn’t long before Nicole heard a commotion in the hallway. She made it to her door in just enough time to pull it open before she was met with Eliza and Nedley headed her way. She stepped out of the doorway, allowing them to walk in. Wynonna had stood up from her bar stool and made her way around the counter so that she now faced the door, glass of whiskey still in hand. Nedley was thankfully able to read the room and immediately started asking questions.

“Who was the last one to see Waverly?” Nicole cleared her throat and answered him. “I was. We had been on the roof hanging out and were coming back down to the apartment. Waverly said that she was going back to their apartment to check on Wynonna and I waited here watching TV, but she never returned.” She paused for a moment before remembering the text. Nicole pulled out her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Nedley. “That text came in right after I realized Waverly was missing. I don’t recognize the number and I didn’t respond, but this is not a coincidence.” Nedley jotted the number down on his notepad, then handed it to Eliza, who quickly stepped away to make a call.

From there, Nedley continued to ask questions, some directed at her, some at Wynonna. Ever so often, Eliza would slip in a question or two of her own, seeming to be putting something together in her head. A few times during the questioning, another cop would pop into the room to speak quietly with Nedley before exiting the apartment again. Nicole was betting that they were combing through the Earps’ apartment. 

When a lull finally fell in the questioning, Nicole stood up from where she had been leaning against the back of the couch and stretched. She felt a deep aching all over and she knew that her body was feeling the physical toll of the mental battle that she was fighting desperately with herself. Wynonna didn’t seem to be doing too much better. She had been steadily drinking throughout the questioning and was now pacing the room. 

Nicole could almost feel the fire burning in Wynonna and she knew that it easily matched the one burning in her own chest. She closed the distance between them and stopped just within arms length of the other woman, pulling the bottle out of her hand and taking a drink. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Nedley talking to Eliza and another officer by the door and figured that the questioning was over at least for the moment. She turned back to Wynonna, who had remained standing in front of Nicole, seeming to be waiting impatiently for the bottle to be returned to her. She placed it back in the waiting brunette’s hand and flopped down on the couch. 

After a little while, things outside the door had seemed to quiet a little and Nicole was feeling the effects of the alcohol. Nedley and Eliza had stepped out into the hallway, leaving the women in the silence of the apartment. Wynonna had plopped herself unceremoniously down in the living room chair that sat at an angle from the couch. The whiskey was mostly gone, and Nicole tried to remember if it had been full when they started drinking. 

She sat up a little straighter when she heard the sound of her door being slowly pushed open and footsteps approaching them. She couldn’t bring herself to turn around, instead watching Wynonna’s face for an indication of who it was. She was answered within moments when Eliza snagged the bottle out of Wynonna’s hand and took a drink, sitting down beside Nicole on the couch.

“So Haught, listen. I know that you want to 100% in this and help find Waverly, but we both know you can’t be. You are way too close to this.” Eliza made eye contact with Nicole and didn’t flinch away from what she saw there.

Nicole felt anger rapidly bubbling up in her chest. She knew she couldn’t be involved. A part of her knew that she had already made piece with that. But it still made her angry to hear it. She tried to take a deep breath and her voice came out as an almost growl. 

“Don’t you think I know that!? All I want is to bring her home safe and I can’t. I have to wait around and hope that you find her.”

“We will find her.”

Nicole grabbed the bottle that Eliza had sat on the coffee table and took a long drink of it before she stood up. “I can’t just sit here Eliza. I’ve got to get out of here and go look for her.” Nicole was slipping on her boots when she turned to the brunette slumped in the chair. 

“You coming or not Earp?”

The eldest Earp lunged to her feet and headed to meet Nicole by the door. Eliza was quick on her heels, shooting Nicole a look that she knew all too well. She could already hear what the blonde was about to say and she honestly didn’t want to hear it. She pulled open the door and walked through, thankful that the hallway was clear. She didn’t stop walking until she made it to the elevator.

“Nicole, this isn’t a good idea.” 

She glanced over at Eliza, then back at the elevator, not responding. She could see Wynonna looking back and forth between the two of them, clearly confused. That confusion seemed to build when Eliza let out a rough sigh and threw up her hands. Before she could start in on Nicole again, the redhead spoke up. 

“Listen, Eliza, just stop. I’m going to go look for her whether everyone thinks its okay or not.” The fire in the woman’s eyes seemed to change something in the blonde and she locked eyes with Nicole. 

“If you are hellbent on looking for her yourself Haught, I might have a hunch where to start. We just need to pick up a couple things first.” Wynonna surprised them both by pushing past them into the elevator.

“If that’s the case, lead the way blondie.”

They followed Wynonna onto the elevador, Nicole silently praying that Eliza's hunch was correct.


	27. Chapter 27

As they made their way through the parking garage, Eliza walked up to the back of her car and popped the trunk. After tossing a couple things into a duffel bag, she grabbed said bag and slammed the trunk, pulling out her phone and leaning against the car. 

“Soooo...we’re just gonna stand here?” Wynonna had leaned against the car beside Eliza, eyeing her up and down. Nicole had no idea how either of them were standing still. She was a tightly wound mess. 

“Nope. But neither of you are in any state to drive and where we are going we need something a little better suited to offroading. So, unless one of you has a better idea, I’m going to call in a ride.” Nicole patted her pockets and quickly withdrew her keys, not hesitating to toss them to Eliza. “We can take my SUV, it’s right over here.” She nodded to where her vehicle was parked and they all took off in that direction. 

Once they were all piled in, Eliza started up the car and they headed out of the garage. Once they hit the highway, Eliza glanced towards Nicole with a reassuring smile.

“I just have to make one stop before we head out. I promise I will be as quick as I can.” 

**********

“Work, really?” They had pulled up outside of the sheriff’s office and Wynonna had finally sat up from her slouched position in the backseat to whine about their current location. 

“It will be quick. You two don’t have to come in.” With that, Eliza was out of the car and walking rapidly towards the front door of the station. Nicole had taken up residence in the passenger seat and turned around slightly to face Wynonna. She was already starting to sober up in the 15 minutes since they had left her apartment, but that did little to help the uneasiness in her stomach. She realized that they may be in for a long night already. 

“We will find her Wynonna.” Nicole wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure herself or the brunette more. She breathed out a sigh and stared out into the blackness around them, broken only by a couple overhead lights in the parking lot. A quick glance at the time told her that it was almost 11 PM. 

She ran one hand absentmindedly through her hair and drummed the other on the door handle that she hadn't realized she had been gripping. Her mind raced with all the posibilities of what kind of torture Waverly could be enduring right now. That is, if she was even still alive. She shook her head to try and clear the thoughts. Waverly wasn't dead. She was sure of it. Something in the back of her mind seemed certain that she would feel it if anything had happened to her. Then again, that same part of her brain seemed to have missed Waverly being taken. 

She had purposefully chosen not to tell anyone else the thought that had been replaying in her head. She should have known something happened. She should have gone to check after Waverly didn't return to her within a few minutes. And how had she not heard anything? Surely Waverly hadn't gone quietly. It was a miracle that no one else had voiced any of this to her. Were they just tiptoeing around it because of everything Nicole had been through? She knew Wynonna said that she didn't blame her but….

She was brought out of her trance when the back hatch was thrown open and 2 more duffel bags were thrown into the back. She could hear Eliza digging around in one of the bags, but didn't turn around. A myriad of questions were swirling in her head, but she knew not to push the blonde for answers just yet. Wynonna on the other hand, didn't seem to have that sane patience. 

"Took you long enough Blondie. What the hell is the plan anyways? We've been sitting out here waiting on you and still have no idea what's going on. I swear to god if this is some half assed plan to keep us distracted…

Instead of answering, Eliza slammed the hatch closed and made her way back to the drivers side of the vehicle. She finally answered as she started up the SUV and began to back out of the parking spot, not looking at the other two women in the car. 

"We dug up some dirt on this biker gang that has been hanging around town. Seems their leader has set himself up on the outskirts of town with a few other ruffians. So that's where we are going. Not that I expect him to talk. But at least it will give us an idea of who we are dealing with if it is them. I gave Jeremy the number that text you, and he is tracking it down as we speak hopefully." With this last sentence, she glanced at Nicole out of the corner of her eye and swallowed hard. "Nic, I still don't think this is a good idea. I know how good you are at this kind of thing, but I still think you both should be back home…" 

Nicole saw a sudden glint of silver from the backseat before Eliza's words were cut short by the barrel of a Colt revolver pressed against the back of her head. To her credit, the blonde never so much as flinched, just stopped talking. It honestly made Nicole wonder exactly what Eliza had gotten up to overseas. 

"Jesus Wynonna, is that really necessary!?" She had finally regained her composure and was glaring at Wynonna in the rearview mirror. She shared the fiery brunette's feelings about being left out of the search, but this was definitely overkill. 

"It is if your buddy here thinks for a single second I'm going to be left out of searching for my sister." Her eyes met Nicole's in the rearview mirror and for a brief moment, Nicole could feel all the emotion that seemed to pour into that look. Wynonna was scared. Waverly was all either of them had left. 

She knew the older of the two Earps was fiercely protective and she let out the breath that seemed to have caught in her throat before slowly turning in her seat. Wynonna had gone back to staring a hole into the back of Eliza's head, but the tenseness was leaving her arm. Nicole slowly reached out and wrapped her fingers around the barrel of the gun and found little resistance when she started to slowly push it lower. Wynonna took the hint and dropped the gun, electing to lay in beside her on the backseat. After a heavy silence, Wynonna finally huffed as Nicole turned back around in her seat and she was sure she saw a smile try to slide onto Eliza's face before she quickly hid it. 

They rode for what felt like forever in heavy silence, the only noise the sound of the tires on asphalt. They finally turned off the highway onto a winding dirt road, following it for a couple miles before pulling off at a break in the trees. Nicole could see lights further down the road and assumed that this was where the biker gang had set up shop. They all moved at once and met at the back of the SUV, where Eliza was now digging in the bags again.

"Here." She seemed to have found exactly what she was looking for as she pushed a Sig Sauer P320 into Nicole's hand. The redhead smiled, turning the gun over in her hand. She opened her mouth to protest that she already had a gun, but the blonde cut her off. "Don't argue. Just take it. If this all goes sideways and we get into a firefight, the last thing you need is to be using your service weapon. Lets hope it doesn't come to that." 

As she spoke, Wynonna had managed to slide in beside her, looking over everything that seemed to be laid out in front of them. As she reached into the bag, Eliza swatted her hand and raised an eyebrow at the shocked look on the brunette's face. "You already have a gun. And don't try to tell me that's your service revolver because i know that's bullshit." Wynonna just huffed, pushing past the two women and walking to sit on a boulder a few feet from them. As an added thought, Eliza turned and faced the older brunette. "Oh, and Earp, if you ever pull a gun on me again, you better be prepared to pull the trigger." The look on her face read no nonsense, but Nicole could hear the edge of teasing in her voice. 

After they were all suited up with the necessary equipment for a stake out (including a pair of night vision goggles that Wynonna had tried to call dibs on), they headed towards the lights, following the woodline as they did, careful to keep their flashlights low. Before long, they reached the point where the woodline cut a sharp right and seemed to be swallowed up into the darkness. Before them lay what appeared to be a rather large clearing that was partially grown up. They turned off their flashlights and made sure to stay just outside the light that was bathing most of the clearing.

Eliza motioned for them to stop as she pulled a pair of inferred binoculars out of the bag that was slung over her shoulder. Nicole didn't need binoculars or night vision goggles to make out the general layout of the place awash in the light from the roaring bonfire. There were several RVs spread out, along with a scattering of several smaller campers. She could just make out what appeared to be a barn situated near the back. And amongst all these things? Bikers. Lots of bikers. 

"So, are we just gonna stand here all night or are we going to get my sister?" Wynonna hissed at the women beside her, patience wearing thin. She turned and went to step forward and Nicole reached out for her arm. 

"Wynonna, you can't go charging in. You know that. It would be suicide." Even though she was looking at the hand on her arm like she might bite it off, she didn't pull away and Nicole knew that meant she agreed. She quickly dropped her hand as Wynonna settled back to her previous position. Her stillness lasted no more than a minute or two before she was on the move again. This time though, she moved around Nicole to stand behind Eliza. 

"I'm bored already. This is bullshit. Do you see anything?" She gestured in the general area of the bikers with her gun as emphasis. Eliza sighed and dropped the hand holding the binoculars to her side. 

"I don't see anything to indicate they have her but here," she handed the binoculars to Wynonna, "you take a look. Knock yourself out. But get out from behind me. I don't trust your drunk ass behind me with a gun." With that, she stepped over to where Wynonna had been standing before. 

"Nicole has a gun. You gave her a gun." Nicole couldn't help but snicker to herself. This was a serious situation and she knew it. But the fact that Wynonna could still be whiney at a time like this still amused her.

"First of all, Nicole isn't waving around a gun. The very same gun that you had pressed to the back of my head earlier." Wynonna seemed to have just realized she was still holding her gun. "Second of all, I've seen Nicole drunk off her ass shooting bottles to blow off steam. She's a damn fine shot even then. I'm not afraid of her accidently shooting me." Wynonna tucked her gun back into the holster and looked through the binoculars, slowly scanning the area before them. 

"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything either. Well, except for ugly ass bikers. Damnit." Nicole sighed and thought about asking to look herself, but she knew the result would still be the same.

"What do we do now? What if they are holding her somewhere? That barn looks super sketchy." Nicole could hear a small stain of panic floating in Wynonna voice but she tried not to show it. 

"I agree, it does look sketchy. If they are hiding her anywhere on the property, it's probably there. But if we just go charging in, we could die or they could hurt her because of it. Or both. I want to go running in there as badly as you do. I promise you Wynonna, we are going to get her back. But we need to do this right." Wynonna just nodded at her. 

"I might have an idea. I'll be right back." Eliza turned and pulled out her phone, then stopped and turned back around to face Nicole. "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." With that, she turned and walked off towards the woodline as she dialed her phone. 

"Is she always this much of a bitch or am I just special?" Nicole just shook her head at Wynonna's question. "She is trying to help Wynonna. And you pulled a gun on her." The brunette just huffed and returned to scanning the biker gathering through the binoculars, but didn't say anything else until Eliza appeared a few minutes later. 

"You better have good news." 

"I do actually. Although, probably not what you want to hear. I called Dolls. Jeremy may have found something. He has already called Nedley and filled him in. They think that they may have enough for a warrant, but it won't be until tomorrow morning." Nicole opened her mouth, ready to declare that she would stay all night if she had to, but Eliza seemed to sense what she was about to say and cut her off. "I know you both want to stay and wait to see if Waverly turns up here tonight or how it all turns out in the morning. But you should both also know that you can not be part of them going in there to look for her. And quite frankly you could both probably use some rest." From behind her, Wynonna spoke up.

"Listen, I've already told you you're not leaving me out of this. If she is here…" Eliza again spoke up. "If she is here, Dolls and I will find her. He is on his way here right now. Once he gets here, I need you two to go home. I promise you I will call you bright and early in the morning and I will update you if there is any news, okay?" This time, as she spoke, her words seemed to soften slightly as she looked between the other two women. Nicole could tell that Wynonna wanted to argue, but the loss of the cold steel in Eliza's words seemed to have thrown her off. She finally threw up her hands and went back to scanning through the binoculars, pacing a couple yards down the woodline. Nicole noticed that Eliza seemed to be staring at her with a strange expression on her face. The alcohol was wearing off and she was starting to get a headache. 

"Spit it out Eliza." 

"You really love her don't you?" 

"I mean, she's like family, she's the closest thing to a best friend ive ever had other than you. Wynonna can be a real pain in the ass but she does care." Nicole was puzzled when this seemed to earn a snicker from Eliza. 

"What's so funny?"

"That's good to know, but I was talking about Waverly." Her face settled into a calm expression and she nudges Nicole's shoulder. "Seriously Nic, the last time I saw you like this was…" Her words trailed off, but she knew exactly what Eliza was about to say.

"Was in the beginning with Shae." Nicole finished the statement for her and let out a heavy sigh and ran her fingers through her hair before crossing her arms tightly. "It's not...it's not like that. This is different. I've never felt like this for anyone. She lights up my whole fucking world E. She's an absolute angel and I don't deserve her." As she spoke, she let her gaze drift off back towards the light of the bonfire. She knew it was useless to try and hide the tear sliding down her cheek. 

They stood in silence for a few minutes before Wynonna finally made her way back to them. Anger was written all over her face, but underneath that, Nicole could read the hopelessness and the fear. She bumped her shoulder against the brunettes, knowing there was nothing that she could say to help. 

They stood like this, lost in the dull roar from the bikers in front of them and the noise from the forest behind them. As they watched and listened, Nicole's mind drifted and she felt another tear slide down her face. She tried not to think about where Waverly was and how this wouldn't have happened to her if Nicole had just stayed away. She was so lost in thought, that she jumped when she heard a branch snap behind them. 

As she turned, she breathed out the breath she hadn't realized had caught in her throat. Dolls was slowly making his way to them and Nicole chastised herself for not hearing him sooner. What if he had been one of the bikers?

"Okay. I'm here. You two, head home. Jeremy is waiting in the car to drive you." Neither woman wanted to leave but after again being reassured that they would be the first to know any new developments, they finally conceded. 

They walked in silence until they were back to the vehicle. Wynonna threw herself into the back of what Nicole could only assume was Dolls' SUV as she climbed into the front seat. She was greeted by the same smiling man who had delivered their takeout that first night of poker. 

"Hello again Jeremy." 

"Hi. Listen, I know you must both he upset, but I'm sure…" he jarred forward as Wynonna kicked hard into the back of his seat. 

"Just drive Jeremy." 

"Yup. On it." He put the SUV into reverse and they started their way back towards the apartment. A deafening silence filled the vehicle, but no one dared break it. There was too much in the silence and they all knew it. 

Wynonna didn't even bother to speak once Jeremy had parked outside their apartment building. Instead, she simply climbed out of the car and started walking towards the entrance without even looking back. Nicole just rolled her eyes and shot a quick smile and a thank you to Jeremy before she followed. She finally caught up to her at the elevator and they rode up, barely looking at each other. It wasn't until stepped off the elevator that Wynonna spoke. 

"Listen, do you mind if I crash on your couch Haught? Pretty sure my apartment is still considered a crime scene or whatever." If she was being honest with herself, Nicole really wanted to be alone, but she knew that it would probably be good for both of them if they stayed together. 

"Yea, come on. I think I have some pjs that will fit you." 

After they had both changed, Nicole retrieved a pillow and blanket for Wynonna and laid them out on the couch. "Make yourself at home." 

"I plan on it." With that, Wynonna flopped down on the couch. Nicole just rolled her eyes and said good night before making her way to her own bed. 

Once her phone was on the charger and she had slipped into bed, Nicole layed staring at her ceiling. There was only one though that played through her mind and she whispered it to the darkness.

"I have to get her back."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys. Just couldn't seem to get this chapter right. I know its short but BIG things are coming next chapter!

Nicole wasn't sure how long she had laid in her bed before sleep overtook her, but she woke with a start at the sound of her phone ringing. As she launched herself towards the nightstand where it sat, she heard a loud grumble coming from her livingroom. She had almost forgotten that Wynonna had slept on her couch last night. 

She answered the phone without paying much attention to the caller ID, glancing only at the time. 8 AM. Hopefully, this call meant good news. She mumbled a sleepy hello and held her breath. Her hopes were dashed though when the first thing that came across the line was a sigh.

"Morning Nic." Eliza's voice sounded tired and hollow on the phone and Nicole had to swallow around the lump in her throat. 

"Morning E. So, did the warrant come through? Did you find anything?" She knew better than to ask if they had found Waverly. The sound of her voice alone told her they hadn't. 

"Yes and no. I wish I was calling with better news. We were able to get a little more information on their leader, some fur coat wearing smart ass named Bobo. He was real helpful." Nicole could hear the eye roll even over the phone. "But we didn't find Waverly. Or any sign that she might have been here. If they have her, they are holding her somewhere else. I'm sorry Nicole. We are about to head back to the station to continue looking into all of it."

The redhead wanted to get mad and tell Eliza that they needed to keep looking. But she knew Eliza and she knew that she wouldn't be calling with such lackluster news if she hadn't already scoured every inch of the place. Nicole hung her head and listened to the footsteps that seemed to be making their way around her kitchen. She thanked Eliza and hung up the phone, getting more halfhearted assurances from the other woman that they would find Waverly. 

As she sat the phone down back on the nightstand, Wynonna appeared in her bedroom doorway yawning. 

"Morning Red. You heard anything yet?" The look on Nicole's face said it all.

"They still haven't found her." The brunette rubbed her eyes and sighed, clearly just as lost for words as Nicole was. She watched a series of emotions play across Wynonna's face before she finally settled on a look of irritation.

"Come on. Get dressed. We are going down to the station and we will get answers. Surely someone has found something. But first, coffee." She turned and walked out of the room, yelling to Nicole that she would be right back. 

After hearing the front door close, Nicole stared at her feet for a few moments before climbing out of bed. Wynonna was right. Waiting on answers just wasn't going to work. She didn't even know where to start, but hopefully coffee would help. She dressed quickly in jeans and a hoodie before making her way into the livingroom to put on her boots while she waited on Wynonna. As if on cue, her door swung open as she was standing back up from the couch. 

"Come on Haught. Let's get going."

**********

They had stopped off for coffee and bear claws on their way into the station. Nicole had filled Wynonna in on what little information had been given to her by Eliza and she was equally as frustrated at the lack of leads they had come up with. That frustration was evident when Wynonna couldn't even finish her favorite pastry by the time they reached the station.

They were both a little surprised (and a little relieved) to see the parking lot full of cars, most of which belonged to Nicole's fellow officers. It warmed a piece of Nicole's heart to see that Nedley had called in everyone he could to help out with this. She honestly wasn't surprised they came though. Wynonna did always tease Waverly about being the town's most beloved citizen. 

They were met at the door by a few officers milling around outside, who seemed to be at a loss for words when they saw the pair coming. Wynonna blew right past them and Nicole offered the best smile she could, but even she knew it didn't reach her eyes. 

The mass of moving bodies inside the station seemed to part when they stepped through the doors and they made their way wordlessly towards Nedley's office. The sheriff was sitting behind his desk, talking in harsh whispers to Eliza, who sat across from him. While they spoke, Dolls was pacing the floor. He was the first to notice the two women appearing in the doorway and stopped pacing. 

"Tell me you three have more information than what Haught Shit here has already given me." Nicole didn't miss that Dolls hung his head at Wynonna's words. But it was Nedley who spoke first.

"Wynonna, I have every body I can on this. Bobo is hiding something, I'm sure of it. But we couldn't find any shred of evidence that Waverly was ever there. I'm sorry. We are trying Wynonna. We will bring her home." 

"You know, I'm real tired of hearing that already." Nicole quickly covered her mouth. She had not meant to say that out loud. Clearly, everyone else was just as surprised as she was. The look Wynonna shot her, though, said she had vocalized what they were both thinking. The tension between them was cut suddenly when Jeremy came bounding up behind them. 

"Guys! It's moving!" They all looked at him as if he had grown another head before he went on to explain. 

"I've been tracking the phone that text you Nicole since last night. It was originally pinging out near where Bobo and his men were partying, but now it's moving back towards the heart of town." 

"That can't be right Jeremy. Everyone out there surveilling was given strict instructions to advise us if Bobo or any of his ruffians left their little trailer park." He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed as he spoke. The line seemed to ring only once or twice before the call was answered. They all waited with baited breath as Dolls quickly questioned the officer on the other end. Once he hung up, he looked back to Jeremy. 

"There has been one car in and out all morning. No one entered or exited the vehicle. They pulled up, were met by Bobo, then left a couple minutes later. Plates came back as registered to Mary Harlow. Ringing any bells for anyone?" They all shook their heads, waiting on Dolls to continue. When he didn't, Eliza looked between the three of them standing in the doorway like she wasn't sure who to address first. She finally settled on Jeremy. 

"Go see if you can track anything else down on that number and the name Mary Harlow. Find any connection you can and report back to me." She turned her attention to Nicole and Wynonna. "You two, I need you to rack your brain and try to think of anything you can that might help. Don't argue Earp." She pointed a finger at the older Earp, who had opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. "Nicole," she fell silent, trying to read her face, "I know what you are thinking but you can't go there. I need your mind here, not wandering to all the possible bad outcomes." Nicole nodded slowly. She knew Eliza was right, but her brain seemed to want to ignore the order not to wander. 

"You guys can stay here at the station or you can go back out with me to Bobo's if it would make you feel better. But you can not, I repeat, CAN NOT be involved in any type of interrogation, understood?" They both nodded at Eliza before Wynonna pushed Nicole's arm roughly and seemed to set her shoulders with a determined look on her face. 

"Let's go find our girl."

**********

"What the fuck do you mean you still have nothing!?" Wynonna shouted across the room at Dolls and Jeremy, who stood huddled around the latter's computer screen. 

"Wynonna, we are doing the best we can but we keep coming up with dead ends. We are still looking. Finding Waverly is still top priority for everyone." Dolls’ voice was rough as he glared back at the brunette, who didn't even flinch. Nicole had a feeling she was used to this stare down by now. 

Three days. It had been almost 3 days since Waverly was taken and they still weren't any closer to finding her. Neither Nicole nor Wynonna had gotten much sleep outside of dozing on the couches at the station. Nicole had only been back to her apartment twice, once to grab a change of clothes and once to grab Calamity. Even though Nedley seemed apprehensive at first when Nicole had shown up at the station with the little ball of fur tucked into her hoodie, it didn't take long before he had offered to "look after" her while Nicole helped search. The kitten was currently curled up asleep in one of his office chairs. 

Nicole rubbed her eyes and took another sip of the coffee in front of her. She barely tasted the warm liquid as she swallowed and watched Wynonna storm across the room towards the door. Dolls shot a glance her way and his glare softened a little around the edges. 

“We really are trying Nicole.”

“I know Dolls.” 

She stood and stretched, heading towards the door that Wynonna had thrown open moments earlier. She knew better than to try and run after Wynonna. Instead, she walked over to her desk and sat down, hanging her head and debating what to do next. She pulled out her cellphone and sat it on her desk. Hopefully, she would hear back from Eliza some time today. She said that she was going to track down a lead. Nicole had offered to tag along, but she knew that Eliza would say no. It was worth a shot. She wondered for the millionth time if there was something, anything, that she had missed. She was lost in thought when Wynonna came stomping back into the room and sat down at the desk across from her. 

“What the fuck are we doing Nicole?”

She yawned and sloshed the last sip of coffee around in her cup.

“I am about to go grab another cup of coffee. Do you want one?” Wynonna just nodded and slumped lower in her chair. Well, at least she had calmed down. She made her way to the breakroom and poured two cups. She checked the fridge and shook her head at the lack of milk or creamer. Then again, they had all been living off of breakroom coffee lately. She added a little bit of sugar to her cup and left Wynonna’s black. She stopped before heading back out the door, snagging a couple granola bars out a box on the counter. 

She rounded the corner, trying hard not to spill either cup of coffee. She was expecting to see Wynonna slumped over at her desk. What she was not expecting was to see Wynonna, along with Nedley and Eliza standing gathered at the sheriff’s office door. She took a sip of her coffee and sat it on her desk, along with Wynonna’s. The brunette was the first one to spot Nicole coming and her face seemed to harden. Nicole knew that whatever they were discussing was bad news. If she wasn’t mistaken, it looked like a tear on Wynonna’s cheek. Oh no. 

“What's going on guys?”

All eyes seemed to shift to Nicole, then back to one another. Wynonna was the first one to break the tension that seemed to have formed with that one sentence. 

“She deserves to know. You both know that.” 

Eliza nodded and motioned for Nicole to come into the office. Once inside, she pointed to a laptop that sat open on his desk. It all felt way too ominous. Eliza sighed beside Nicole, seeming to be grappling with exactly how to proceed. 

“Just tell me E. What the hell is going one?”

“An email came through to us this morning from whoever has Waverly. They have only one demand. They want to trade Waverly...for you. And if we don’t deliver you by midnight, they will kill Waverly. They were even so kind enough as to attach this.” Eliza reached around her and clicked on a link before moving so Nicole could see. On the screen seemed to be a live feed of Waverly, chained to a wall in a tshirt and her underwear. There seemed to be fresh bruises forming on the bare parts of her skin and it looked like she was crying. Nicole felt like she might vomit. Her angel. How could she have let this happen? She had to trade herself for Waverly. Even with no solid proof, she knew in her gut exactly who was behind this. She couldn’t continue ruining everyone else’s life. They all deserved better than this. 

She went to push away from the desk, tears in her eyes and a hollow feeling in her chest, when something on the screen caught her eye. She adjusted the brightness on the screen and felt a knot twist in her stomach. Partially from terror, partially from hope. The wall that Waverly was chained to seemed to be made highly unremarkable. However, the beams running across the ceiling were a different story. She could feel all of the color draining from her face as she scanned the faces around her until her eyes met Wynonna’s. 

“I know where she is.”


End file.
